The Man Who Would Be King
by spyderslicer
Summary: This is the story of Treda, a young man who has just been forced out of his home in Reyvadin. He is now out for revenge on king Yaroglek, and must face challenges and obstacles to achieve his goal. The rating may change at a later date. Currently on hiatus.
1. Chap 1 Every story needs a begining

**I wrote this after playing my most recent character for M&B Warband. I always thought that the game was rather vivid as to why you the player are becoming an adventurer. I started thinking of possible reasons which led me to write this. R&R.**

Until just the other day I was living a decent life in a fair sized house in Reyvadin a town of the Vaegirs. I was born into a family of declining nobility. We didn't own any land just a fair sized house that I lived in with my father. My mother died just a couple years after my birth.

I spent my early life as a page in the courts of Reyvadin. My first lessons were on humility as I waited on the lords and ladies of the household. I paid attention to everything going on around me and I learned from their chess games, gossip and even the poems and stories of great deeds and courtly romances that there was rough world out there full of conflict. I also learned from the games with the other children as we hit each with sticks imitating our elder's swords.

Then, as a young adult, life changed as it always does. The distinction was rather sudden, one minute I was just a page the next I was named a squire to one of the nobles at the court. Suddenly the world was changing all around me. I practiced long hours with weapons of all shapes, sizes and purposes. I learned how to deal out hard knocks and how to take them, too. I was instructed on my obligations to my lord and of the duties of those who might be my vassals. But in addition to the learning of the chivalric ideal, I learned about the less uplifting side – old warriors' stories of ruthless power, politics of betrayal and usurpation's of men who used guile as well as valor to achieve their aims.

My father had always had high hopes for me. But he never knew when to hold his tongue. He didn't mind saying what he thought the King was doing wrong. He also didn't care who he said it around. Being in the king's city he was bound to have eyes and ears everywhere. One night my father came home in a panic. He said nothing he just entered the house and bolted the door. He rummaged through a chest I hadn't seen before and told me I had to leave now. He pulled out several items; an old hunting crossbow, its quiver of bolts, a short sword and a slightly cracked shield with our coat of arms on it. He gave me the weapons and tossed me a set of leather armor that had seen better days. There was a loud banging of metal against wood at our door.

"Open up Fricio!" a rough voice called from outside.

My father ran out of the room. He returned a few moments later a couple of cloth sacs. He tossed them to me. Peering in one was full of food, the other coin.

"I said open the door before we break it down," the rough voice called again.

"Go out the window, Treda," my father said quickly. I moved towards the window and he shoved me out. We were only on the first floor. He didn't follow he just closed the shutters. I heard the smash of wood cracking and hitting the floor. I was on my feet and peering through the cracks in the shutter. The sound of several of metal boots ringing through the house could be heard even where I was.

"By the order of our King Yaroglek, the true king of Caldaria, you are found guilty of treason. You have been spreading your lies long enough. Yaroglek is our true king and rightful ruler of all of Caldaria," the man walking towards my father.

My father just lifted his hand and chuckled. The man squinted and then drew his sword.

"You are to be put to death tomorrow. Grab him men," he said as several men grabbed my father roughly and dragged him out, "search the area for the son. He will be put to death too for being in league with this dog."

I couldn't do anything else. I ran as fast as I could. Things weren't supposed to happen this way. I was running to the front of the house when I noticed there were guards everywhere. I quickly turned before they took notice and looked around. There was a ladder leaning against the wall that surrounded our property, left there when some men came to fix a leak on the roof. I climbed the ladder and jumped into the darkness. I zigzagged through the backstreets until I came to a dark alley and changed. I looked a little conspicuous wearing full leather armor and carrying weapons. I hid the crossbow, bolts and shield behind some barrels. I wore the leather armor under my cloths and hid the blade. I then put on my cloak and rented a room in an inn closer to the center of town. I had to be careful not to let anyone see my face. You never know who's watching you.

**The following morning**

The next morning I awoke to hearing shouts from outside my window. Looking outside the streets were packed with people. Slipping on my cloak I went outside quickly giving my key to the inn keeper. I could barely get out the door because of the sea of bodies.  
>"What's going on here?" I asked the neared person.<p>

"Didn't you hear? One of the nobles was planning some sort of plot against the king. They caught him last night and he's to be executed soon." The man said only to disappear back into the crowd.

Executions weren't very common because most people learned where you could and couldn't say certain things. It took a while but I managed to get to the town square, in place of merchant stands there was a large platform. The platform had a large stone chopping block. Atop the platform was a man wearing a black hood and holding a vicious looking blade. After what felt like an eternity the Yaroglek stepped up leaving guards at the bottom and top of the steps. The huge square became quiet.

"People I come before you to show you the face of deception," the king said aloud as two men came dragging my father, "this man was once a true noble of our empire. He paid his dues and went through life without error. Then I hear that he is talking. He says I am not the true king of Caldaria. He says that I am not fit to rule and that I am destroying our great empire. This kind of insolence will not stand. Watch carefully for you are about to witness what happens to those who attempt to shake the very foundation of our empire."

I couldn't see much of my father other than that he was battered and bloody. The men forced him down onto the chopping blood. I began to push through the crowd.

"Do you have any last words Fricio?" the king asked my bloodied father.

"Yes. You will regret this day, the day you sealed your fate, the fate of your kingdom, maybe even all of Caldaria." My father said as loud as he could in his current condition.

Yaroglek Just looked at him. He motioned to the hooded man who hefted his sword with ease. I was at the front of the crowd and had my hand on the hilt of my sword. I looked at my father. He seemed to notice me and for some reason I didn't understand shook his head. My shoulders went limp. The hooded lifted his sword and in one smooth arc struck my father's head from his shoulders. Blood spurted from where his head had been moments ago. I almost cried out. The crowd was still silent. Then everyone began to disperse.

I just stood there for a while. One minute I was the son of declining nobility. The next I was an outlaw and a traitor. There was nothing left for me in Reyvadin. The last of my family was dead. But I knew one thing; I would have my revenge on King Yaroglek. But first I would need an army, which would be no easy feat to achieve. But I knew the perfect place to start; the kingdom of the Rhodoks.

**Tell me what you think, do you like it? Hate it? Constructive criticism is welcome.**


	2. Chap 2 Enter the Rhodoks

**I figured I would write the second chapter as soon as possible with the ideas I had before they were lost. This one is slightly longer than the other chapter but not by much. Read and review.**

I left Reyvadin at night. I couldn't leave on horseback because I didn't want to attract attention. While traveling through Swadia I picked up a lame horse in Dhirim. I didn't want to spend all of my money before I got to my destination. The road was perilous and I was chased by several bands of bandits. But being one man and a horse I was able to make it to Jelkala the capital of the Rhodoks.

The city of countryside was beautiful. I was forced to strip some of my layers of clothing. I was so used to the cold north in the Vaegirs territory. Things could be grown up there but not much and not as much as other areas. But here the land was green, everywhere I turned was lush. I couldn't believe this beautiful place was less than a week's ride from up north. Jelkala like a jewel compared to Reyvadin. Whereas Reyvadin was kind of rundown and dangerous, Jelkala was a large city with so many large white buildings, compared to the light gray of Reyvadin. It was like I was on another island.

Arriving in Jelkala I found myself smelling goods from the market. The city was both a blessing and a curse. I got lost within the first five minutes of being in the city. I found myself wandering the backstreets. How I get got there I will probably never know. But the streets were deserted and everything was quiet, then I heard a sword being drawn out of its scabbard.

A man turned the corner and charged me. I barely had time to draw my own sword before he was on me. I blocked his blow and hopped back a step unslinging my shield. He charged again, I sidestepped and bashed him with my shield. As he staggered back I stabbed towards him only to have him jump to the side. He charged with his sword above his head. He brought the sword down just as I lifted my shield. Hitting the shield seemed to delay him from swinging again; he was recovering when I stabbed him through his chest. He let out a low moan and fell backwards. Another man came around the corner running towards me. I put my shield back up and readied my sword.

"Are you ok?" the man asked. Paying more attention he was dressed rather richly. What was a nobleman doing wandering the streets. "Come follow me," he said motioning for me to follow.

We entered a tavern where I immediately got some ale. My first day in Jelkala and I had taken my first life. Drinking back the bitter liquid I listened to the noble.

"I saw you handle yourself in that fight and realized you're just the kind of man I could use. You see my brother was kidnapped by bandits while he was returning from Veluca," he let out a sight, "they demand a large ransom to be there within the week or they will kill him. The problem is I don't have the money they are asking for."

"And that's where I come in?" I asked.

"Yes. You'll need at least 5 men to accomplish this. I'll give you some money to cover the expense of hiring them," he said producing a small pouch containing a hundred Denars, "after you gather some men search the around the city. I know that some of the bandits are staying close to the city."

"I accept. I will be back when I have your brother," I said grabbing the pouch, standing and finishing my ale. I knew that the villages would be my best bet to find some men to join me.

"When you find him bring him to me here at the tavern," the man said seeing me off at the door.

**Three hours later**

I arrived at, Ruldi and was greeted with the smell of apples and oranges. The town seemed to be prosperous and there was bustling everywhere. I went searching for the town elder, I found him sitting in a chair resting.

"Hello sir my name is Treda. I was wondering if you might happen to know some lads who would like to seek their fortunes in war?" the man looked at me and looked to be thinking and taking a moment to respond.

"Well I can think of 7 boys who fit that description. But we have a problem," the man stated.

"And that would be?"

"Well you see there is a group of bandits come around here every so often and threaten us for supplies. Those strong lads are the part of the few people keeping the bandits from marching in and butchering us and taking what they want," he said shaking his head. I pondered his problem.

"Well I'll make you a deal. I train some your men to fight properly so you can defend yourselves. Then you won't have to worry about bandits," that was the best thing I could think of. I was used to being trained, but I knew what I was doing so I could pass on some of that knowledge.

The man thought about it for a minute.

"It's a deal," the old man replied.

A couple of hours had passed and I only had three faces looking back at me. They were all able bodied men. I spent even longer showing them some techniques with staffs. It took about 4 hours and I thought two of them were catching on. I asked the two of them to spar with me. We took our places and they immediately charged at me staffs raised above their heads. As the first got close enough I rose my own staff and blocked the blow. Quickly swinging the staff and catching him in the shoulder. He staggered to the side and his friend continued staff raised the same way. I blocked it the same only to have him fake me out and catch me in the chest. I staggered back a step and he hit me again.

"Good you're getting it," I said with a smile.

We kept training from noon till nightfall. The good thing is that more people came out to watch and some even joined in on the sparring. I would have loved to be able to spare a week or two to train them but I was on a strict time limit to save that merchants brother.

I was awoken early the next morning to shouts.  
>"The bandits are coming all of them," I heard this and was up like a bolt from a crossbow. Grabbing my equipment I was out the door of the barn I was sleeping in. Needless to say the people were in a panic.<p>

Looking around and seeing the various tools of the trade around here I quickly formulated a plan to stave off the brigands.

"Everyone listen up, I have a plan!" I shouted out getting their attention. We had a lot to plan and little time.

**Two hours later**

Two hours and the bandits were arriving. There was about fifty of them. They were all on foot except for one who was on a horse I assumed was their leader. One of the men; Guile, whom I was training was standing in the open. I peered out from my hiding place.

"Come and talk!" the Guile shouted.

The leader reined in his horse and trotted forth. I just needed him to get a bit closer.

"You their peasants, I hear that the harvest is being brought in and we think we will... Relieve you of some of your supplies," the man with an evil grin.

After his horse trotted a few more feet I leaned out from cover. Taking carful aim I loosed a bolt. It sailed gracefully through the air and slammed into his chest. He fell backwards and hit the ground with a thud. The bandits couldn't belive it. There was a bit of talking and then shouting they then charged forward. Everything was going according to plan. I turned tail and fled followed quickly by Guile and the crowd chasing us.

We ran through the town and rounded a corner. We kept running and then dove forward. The bandits ran around the corner and the mob slowed down. Before they could shout twenty crossbows let loose almost simeltaniously. The front line of bandits dropped. Some dead, others shouting curses. The line quickly notched their crossbows and fired another volley at the mob now rushing forward again. Then we stood and retreated. The bandits were already shaken. As they began to catch up they shouted in surprise as men charged forth from the houses lining the dirt road. They were only armed with sickles, knives, clubs and staffs but they were doing their part. We turned and let loose some carful shots. The bandits were getting ready to turn tail only to find some more men with crossbows forming a single line behind them. They surrendered then and there. I breathed a sigh of relief.

We had no casualties but several wounded. We rounded up the group. Twenty three of the bandits were killed including their leader. Eleven were wounded and the sixteen were almost perfectly fine. The villagers said they wanted to take care of the bandits. I shuddered at the thought of what they planned to do. Later I met with the elder.

"Treda you have done more than we could have ever hoped for. For that the villagers all pitched in to give you this gift," the elder said motioning to some men who brought forth a cart. The small cart of goods was pulled out; it contained mainly food including fresh pork along with a small bag of Denars. My mouth watered at the food. Until now I had been living on near stale bread and a bit of dried meat.

"I don't think I should accept…" I began

"Please don't turn this down. It's not every day that someone just swoops in and does something like what you did. The townspeople would be offended if you turn this down," the old man said cutting me off.

"Ok well if you insist," I said with a smile, "now then about those lads," I said popping a chunk of cheese into my awaiting stomach.

"Yes they are almost ready to go they are probably just finishing getting their gear together," the man said just as several lads of probably sixteen or seventeen walked into view. I thought he was joking when he said boys. But these 'boys' didn't look like push overs. They all held crossbows and had knives and sickles at their hips.

"Well then lads were moving out in ten minutes," I said beginning to attach the cart to my horse.

A while later and we were off. Just over three hours and we were back at Jelkala. The cart just wasn't useful I decided to sell it and buy some bags. Searching through the market we sold the cart and purchased saddle bags and packs. As we packed all of the food and headed out of Jelkala I explained what our current job was. They seemed to be excited that they would get to do something. Farmer's sons aren't generally told they have many choices in life. But we had a mission to do. I couldn't help but feeling this wouldn't be quite as easy as the merchant made it out to be.

**Remember that constructive criticism is welcome. It looks like I will be pretty busy this week with school and Skyrim. I have mid-terms all this week and then my weekend will be devoted to Skyrim. But if I promise I will do my best to get a third chapter up within the next two weeks.**


	3. Chap 3 Ridding Corruption

**This chapter is the longest as of yet being the size of the first two chapters combined. I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

We had searched for most of the day. I wasn't even sure exactly who we were looking for. We were ready to give up for the night when some men caught my attention. They appeared to be a small group of looters. But they were keeping their eyes towards Jelkala and talking about what they would do with their share of the ransom. I didn't need much more than that.

"Ok lads were going to make this quick. Here's what I'm thinking…" I began.

"Yes that sounds like a good idea sir," Aldon was the first to speak. The others nodded in response.

"Well then let's to get to work, you all know where to be." I said as I drew my sword and unslung my shield.

I stepped out of the forest towards the bandits. The four men noticed me quickly and drew weapons. They carried falchions and butcher knives.

"Tell me lad, your money or your life," one of them said smiling.

"I'm here to find where you are keeping the merchants brother," I said trying to keep my voice level.

"How about we just kill you and be done with it. He's got a decent sword I bet hes got a few coins he can… spare," one of them said taking a step forward.

"Not one more step," I said stopping him in my tracks.

"Or what lad you're going to kill all four of us by yourself," he said with a crooked smile.

"No only three of you need to die. I'll need one of you to find where you are hiding the merchant's brother," I said smiling.

"Come on let's just have his head and get back to our job," the one up front said as he continued forward.

He took one more step before dropping backwards. Two others didn't have time to register what was happening before they dropped each with two crossbow bolts to the midsection. The last one turned to run only to get a bolt to the back of his leg. He fell forward and tried to crawl.

I walked up to him and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. I forced him to his knees and he began to whimper.

"Please don't kill me please! I'll never hurt another soul. I will leave this country side and live in peace. Just please don't kill me," at this point he was crying.

"Just tell me where you are keeping him and you are free," I said sheathing my sword.

"Oh thank you sir, thank you. We're keeping him near the town of Buvran just north of here," he was still whimpering.

My men came out of hiding and picked through the corpses. Aldon tossed down his sickle in place of one of the falchions.

"Come on men we're heading to Buvran," I said heading towards my horse.

I mounted up and watched as the ex-looter limped away. How I got from the son of a nobleman to defending villages, killing bandits and rescuing hostages is something I asked myself every day. I also wondered how I could order peoples death without feeling anything; I think that was something I never really wanted to put much thought into. I was afraid what my answer would be.

It took the rest of the day going around the large mountains in-between us and Buvran. By the time we got there the sun was almost completely down. I figured we could use some more men for my cause. The first thing I did was find the town elder. He was a man later in his years with a balding head.

"Hello, my name is Treda, and I am looking for anyone who would search for their fortune in war," the elder put some thought into it.

"Yes I can think of five men who fit what you are looking for. I'll go get them ready," he said leaving me standing there.

After a few minutes five men probably a couple of years older than me came out holding vicious looking scythes walked out, they also carried knives at their sides as backup, but nothing in terms of ranged weapons. The lads I picked up in Ruldi had crossbows everywhere to deal with the large amount of wildlife that the orchards and cattle fields brought in. Paying more attention the area around here was just huge open fields of various vegetables. The few cows they had seemed to be in a small stable in the town.

"Do you men have anything that can be used at range?" I asked hoping they might have something lying around.

"Well sir I'm not sure if you know this, but there's not much game around here to hunt, so we have no crossbows,"

"Well we could gather large rocks to throw," another piped in.

"I'll go get some bags," a third said running off.

I didn't really need to say anything more. They were picking up large stones and throwing them into small pouches that they clipped to their Clothes.

"My good man although I don't want to impose. Would you happen to have a place where we could stay the night, we won't be any trouble and will off first thing," I said turning back to the elder.

He nodded and showed us to a barn similar to the one I had slept in, in Ruldi. Hopefully I wouldn't be awoken in a similar fashion.

**The following morning**

We awoke at dawn as we planned and were off. Not before I left a small pouch of thirteen Denars at the Elder's home. Knowing that nothing was expected, and doing it anyways took the burden away from the feeling that I was losing my humanity. We broke into some bread and cheese and headed off to search the surrounding area away from the fields.

We searched for hours before we found what we were looking for. We found a small valley with a house and several men dotting the surrounding area. Creeping up to the lip we began to plan. Things went to hell quickly.

"Ok so we'll move forward killing anyone who comes in range. With some luck we will be able to crush most of the opposition without much of a fight," I said to the group. We were hiding behind some bushes. Aldon stood up a bit to peer over the top of the bush.

"Well sir from what I can see that should work perfect…" he never got to finish.

He fell backwards with an arrows sticking out of his eye socket. Looking up at the top of a hill to our right, an archer was drawing another arrow.

"Scatter quickly we have to take him out," I shouted and took cover. He loosed another arrow taking down one of the men from Buvran who fell with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. He was still moving, a good sign.

I saw a couple of the boys loosing bolts as the man took his time. The bolts didn't make it that close hitting the middle of the hill. Looking to me left I saw that we were attracting the attention of the other bandits. If we didn't take this bastard out quickly we would easy pickings for the others. Just when I thought we were dead I saw something sail through the air. It connected to the archers head, blood sprayed. Just then one of the men from Buvran appeared running up the side of the hill. He retrieved the bow and arrows and loosed a couple of decent shots at the advancing men.

"Everyone to me!" I shouted as I drew my sword and… shield. The men ran to me and we formed a line. We began to move towards the bandits and tried to look intimidating. The Ruldi boys stopped to loose bolts. I watched one of the bandits get close only to see him get cleaved almost in two by Balda the largest of the men from Buvran. We started to pick up speed. The ground wasn't perfectly even but we kept up the pace. A looter came from side and got Balda in the side with a broken sword. He quickly drew his knife and plunged it into the man's neck; he went down blood spurting from the wound, a look of shock upon his face. We kept moving forward taking down all in our path. Bodies littered behind us. We arrived at the house. The merchant's brother wasn't in it.

I saw a small cave and we moved quickly. We were twenty feet from the mouth of the cave when two men came out. A man with nice clothes and a knife pressed to his neck along with a man in dirty clothes who was holding said knife.

"You bastards may have taken out my men, but I'm getting out of here and you bastards won't stop me. Now then drop them shiny weapons and take a step back," the man said pressing the knife tighter.

I took notice to something on the right but I complied.

"Look. Just calm down and let the man go. We won't stop you but let him live," I said getting a laugh from him.

"You think I wouldn't kill him if I didn't need that money," he said still chuckling, "This man is going to get me a nice bag of coin,"

I just prayed he wouldn't miss.

"Now then I'm going to keep walking and leave here without any funny business," was the last thing he said before losing his grip on the knife and falling, a crude looking arrow sticking out of his back. The merchant's brother collapsed shortly after breathing heavily. I walked up to him.

"Are you OK there?" I asked helping him to his feet.

"Yes thank you for rescuing me. They were talking about killing me anyways even if my brother delivered the money," he said with a shiver.

"I must be off," he said turning to leave.

"Can you wait one minute? We'll just take a minute to patch up our wounded and checking around here to… acquire any ill-gotten gains these barbarians may have stolen. I would hate to see something happen to you because you went off on your own," the man nodded but still took a couple of steps to get away from the body.

"Sir did you see that shot?" Veti, one of the Buvran men said ripping the arrow from the leaders back.

At that point we were patching up Balda and a couple of the other lads who took some nicks and scrapes.

"Yes I did. I thought that you didn't have any crossbows in Ruldi, so how did you get to be a decent shot with a bow?" I asked curiously.

"Well sir we might not have any crossbows or bows. But I've always been fascinated with bows," He said looking at the bow, "My father always preferred a bow. It is nowhere near as powerful as a crossbow, but the ability to put a lot of shots makes up for its loss in strength. My father had an old short bow that he trained me to use. I trained as much as I could when I was younger. But sadly the bow broke and my father had no way to make a new one. Sir, do you mind if I keep this," he asked close to pleadingly.

"Yes you can, now if you'll excuse me I must have a look at what we have in terms of loot," I said heading off.

The cave was rather the bare. But the house, the house was full of goods. It had a small bag of Denars and some food, it also a nice supply of spare weapons; crossbows, swords and shields. We also found a small bundle of furs and a keg of ale. We cracked into the ale immediately; even the merchant's brother took a pint. He drank it eagerly. I couldn't tell if it was because they didn't give him much to drink, or if he was trying to forget almost being bled like a pig. Come to think of it I never asked.

In all of the… I hate to call it, excitement, I almost forgot about Aldon. We found him in the same place he fell. Looking into his eye, I couldn't help but feel mortal. If it had have been me to stand and survey the area, I'd be the one laying there with an arrow in my eye. I hate to admit it, but I was glad it wasn't me on the ground. Veti plucked the arrow from his socket but he didn't put it in his quiver. He put it onto Aldon's chest. We dug him a hole and buried him. I felt bad that we couldn't bring him back to his family, but we were on a mission and we were going to see it through.

It took us most of the day but we got back to Jelkala before the sun set. The merchant embraced his brother as soon as he walked through the door.

"Thank you, thank you!" the merchant said pulling out a small sack of 200 Denars and tossing it to me, "please. Take it for your troubles. Now then all I have to do is send my brother off to a nice university, perhaps in Yalen, and then if anything happens to him it won't be on my conscience," he said sitting down.

I gave each man 10 Denars for their help.

"Before you go off to do something else, could I ask one more thing of you?" the merchant asked suddenly serious.

"Yes, what is it you need help with?" I asked curiosity getting the better of me.

"Well as you found on your first visit here that we have somewhat of a bandit problem. I've been looking into the matter since you left. As it so happens, last year the captain of the watch invested into a caravan. He is no merchant and didn't put any thought into the matter. He purchased a caravan and filled it to the brim with the most expensive and exquisite items. It was of course robbed and he lost everything. It was around then that bandits started to be seemingly welcomed into the city," he stated.

"Well why not bring this to the kings attention?" I asked curiously.

"The king is currently at war with many-a-nation right now. It would boil down to my word against his, and if the king turns his eyes away from the matter, I'll end up with a knife in my back. I have reason to believe that the captain of the watch is dirty. I have gathered a large group of the townspeople. My brother spoke highly of your battle prowess. I want you to be the one to lead us to overthrow the corrupt captain, there will be money in it for you. And you know that the coin is good," he finished and began waiting for my reply.

I thought on it for quite a while. But I had been paying attention to the city since I came here. It is a beautiful place but all these bandits make this place unsafe. I also reasoned that helping the townspeople would be both the right thing to do, and it would help me gather more men to my side.

"I'll do it," I said looking out the window at the sun almost completely hidden by the mountains, "we strike at dawn,"

He just smiled and nodded. He offered to pay for our rooms at one of the local inns. Needless to say we accepted. It had been a while since I slept in an actual bed.

Lying in bed I found myself unable to sleep. In just mere hours I would be leading people in a small uprising. I was both excited and scared. I was going to be fighting against a corrupt power. What if the merchant was mistaken? What if it turns out the captain isn't corrupt. What if instead of being rewarded by the merchant with gold and silver, I am rewarded by the king with my head on a spike. I couldn't allow that to happen. I still had to get my revenge.

The path I was heading down was going to force me to do things I didn't really want to do. Through my years as a squire and even as a page, I was taught what goes on during war. Villages are burned caravans butchered and cities invaded. I was going to end up ordering the death of merchant caravans. I was going to be ordering men to cut down townspeople. The thing was I felt nothing. Where just a couple of weeks ago I would have been disgusted with the thought. Now I found myself rationalizing that it made sense. I would need money to keep the men happy, I would need food to keep them fed, and I would need weapons to keep them armed. All I could think of was those townspeople just watching my father get beheaded. I would have my revenge on Yaroglek, even if I had to take his 'empire' apart piece by piece. I found my eyes beginning to droop. I eventually let sleep overtake me.

**The following morning**

The sun was just rising over the horizon when I walked out the door with only my sword hidden beneath my cloak. I saw the townspeople wandering around with barely concealed knifes and clubs. The group of obvious conspirators wandered almost aimlessly. I was surprised that the bandits hadn't noticed anything. I was near one of the bandits. I threw down my cloak and drawing my sword.

"Come on everyone the time is now!" I shouted stabbing the bandit throw the chest.

The streets went from the bustle of morning activity to a melee. The fight had been going on for a few minutes. I was shouting orders and slashing any bandits that got to close. I heard shouting from behind me and then the world went black.

I awoke in an unfamiliar place. I was lying on a mattress on the floor. My head felt horrible and the room was spinning slightly.

The merchant walked into the room.

"Hello there Treda, you took quite a blow to the head there," he stated handing me a wet rag.

"Well I don't mind a blow taken in good cause. So what happened?" I asked.

"We won, we killed most of them, we ran some off and captured the rest. We also have the captain of the watch with a knife to his throat in the back right now," he said as he produced a rather large bag. He tossed to my side as my hands were busy holding the cool rag to the back of my head.

"Five hundred Denars," he said with a nod, "you've earned every gold piece. Most men would've just walked out but you helped me by rescuing my brother and stoping the corrupt man we have in the back room. Now if you will excuse me we lost a few people and have twice that in wounded. After tending to that I'm going to escort the captain and the bandits to the king's court. You will know how things turn out if you see my head mounted on a spike atop the castle," he said walking out.

I laid back down carefully. I rested for a while before gathering up my money and heading back to the inn. The men deserved another small cut and then we would head to the tavern.

I had elven men under my command and over a thousand Denars in my purse. This was just the beginning. The plan was to spend the rest of the day in Jelkala and await to hear from the merchant. He said it might take until morning to hear from him.

Drinking in the tavern I noticed a lovely blonde girl sitting in the corner. She wore merchants clothes and was all by herself. I grabbed a second ale headed her way.

"Hello there, care for a drink?" I offered.

She took the mug and took a long swig.

"Sure have a seat," she said motioning for me to sit.

"You appear to be a merchant but you're hanging around a pretty low end tavern," I pointed out.

"Well you see good sir my father is a rather well-known merchant here, wanting to try to reap the benefits of marrying me to another well-off merchant to increase his own monopoly. The thing was the man was well into his thirties. My father refused my pleas to call it off and I ran off as a result. Now I'm not sure what I'm going to do," she said sighing.

"Well I'm Treda; I run a small band of soldiers. I have some big plans for the near future. Do you have an skills that we could use," I asked.

"Well Treda, my name is Ymira, I am not much use in a fight, but my father taught me everything he knows about the merchant trade. So I can help you get better prices when you're buying and selling things in the market. I also have some contacts throughout Caldaria that I can get a hold of and find out where the best prices are for goods," she said finishing her mug.

"That sounds perfect. So would you be interested in joining me?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes I would be, I'm ready to leave when you are," she said cheerfully.

"We're heading out early tomorrow," I said finishing my own mug, "care for another round?" I asked her.

"Sure this rounds on me," she said motioning to the bar tender.

Now I had eleven men and a lovely merchant under my banner. First thing tomorrow we would buy some supplies maybe even some more horses and a wagon. I felt kind of stupid for selling my cart without a seconds thought. We would then be off in search of more men for my cause.

**Well that is the third chapter. I had finished sooner than I thought I would. I haven't got any reviews for this as of yet. But maybe now that I'm putting out more than just a couple of pages we can change that. Constructive criticism welcome.  
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	4. Chap 4 Taxes, Travelling and Planning

**I have topped all previous chapters again. I'm trying to make sure that every chapter is a bit longer than the previous. I've only had one review so far by Derathon. As it was anonymous I don't know who you are but thanks. You gave my ego a boost and I kept writing with renewed vigor. Read and review people. Enjoy.  
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I awoke early in the morning; I got up yawning deeply before heading for a shave. I had a bit of a beard growing but it was too hot that far south for a beard. I wasn't sure when we would have the manpower for a trip back up north so the beard was unnecessary. As I shaved, blonde hair falling in small clumps; all I could think of was that I needed a bath. It hadn't been two full weeks since my father's execution and for some reason my concerns were a smooth face and to not smell of dirt and sweat.

The Merchant said he would meet me at the inn we were staying at. I went down the stairs to find some of my men were also already up and drinking. Ymira was nowhere to be seen probably still asleep. The men and I were talking about what to do next. We of course needed more men. I was talking to the hulk of a man Balda.

"Ok we head north-west of here and check Epeshe, then north to Dumar," I said drawing a line with my finger on the map I picked up in the market.

"Well sir I suggest that after that, I have some friends up in Reveran, and I know that there should be some men who wouldn't mind joining up," he said pointing the town out on the map.

"That puts us pretty close to the town of Ilvia too," I said pointing just a little south-west of Reveran.

It took a while but eventually everyone was awake and drinking, eating and talking. I heard the door and went up to meet with the merchant. He was alive but had sadness written on his face. We went to the back to talk.

"Treda, things didn't go quite as expected. King Graveth couldn't quite find it in himself to overlook our little breach of the peace. Oh… trust me he is grateful that we ridded him of his crooked captain. A guard who lets bandits in will let in the enemy, if the price is right. But he can't have me running around. I'd be a lasting reminder that he couldn't take care of things himself," he said letting out a sigh.

"That hardly seems fair…" I started

"Fair? This is Caldaria lad! Kings do what they will, the rest of us do as they must. I'm lucky to not be hanging by a noose in the square. Instead he gave me time to sell my properties. He even put in a word with the other merchants to pay the best price too. That is very generous as far as kings go, but he is a weak king, as they all are, and weak kings must always look to their authority first, and justice second. I guess I would do the same in his shoes," he said scratching his thick beard, "anyways, I downplayed your part in this affair to the king. He has taken note of you, but decided that you're not worth hanging, and that, my boy is something to which I'd raise my glass any day of the week. Anyways I hope you've learned a bit about what it takes just to live another day in this land. I suspect that, that money won't go to waste. Good luck," he said as he turned and left.

I just sat there for a while. I didn't think things would go great but to be banished from your town. It gave me a pang of home sickness. The kings in this land all seemed to be weak and cowardly. I put on a smile and walked back to my men and decided I would need to talk to Ymira.

"Ymira may I have a word with you," I said interrupting her drinking solo again.

"Yes captain?" she asked mock serious.

"Well soldier," I said returning her mock serious tone and chuckling. We continued on like that for a couple of minutes. I sobered up as I remembered what I had to talk to her abouit

"We are good for provisions and weapons. But we need another horse and a covered wagon. You said that you knew the tricks of the trade. I was wondering if you could get us a deal," I said becoming serious.

She nodded also sobering up.

"Well Treda, If you can spare the coin I will do my best to get you the best price I can," she said standing up.

"Let us go," I said leading her to the door, "men we'll be back within the hour. I want everyone packed and ready to leave by then."

We left watching them began to slowly make their way towards their rooms.

It took a while to get to the market and things were quiet between us. We didn't have much to say. Arriving I handed her the pouch with 500 Denars in it.

She nodded and ran off. I lost sight of her in the crowd. For some reason I was afraid she would run of with my money. 500 Denars wasn't a huge sum, but one could live for quite a while on that much money if they were careful.

I breathed a sigh of relief to see her pulling a horse through the crowd. I wasn't exactly sure what had taken so long.

"And the wagon?" I asked curiously, seeing only the horse.

"Well the wagon will need both horses to pull so the wagon will be ready for us when we get back with the other horse," she said handing me the bag.

I was surprised at how heavy it was. I began to quickly count the coins.

"How did you manage to spend so little?" I asked without being able to keep the surprise from my voice. She smiled almost bashfully.

"I said my father is a wealthy merchant. He didn't get that wealth by being a bad merchant. As I said he taught me the tricks of the trade. It took a while but I managed to talk the man down quite a bit. I also had to talk to my contacts about a couple of things," she finished as we left.

I shook my head in disbelief. She hadn't even spent half of the bag. I expected to get 50 Denars back if I was lucky. We walked back talking; I just couldn't seem to stop praising her. It was only a simple thing but I didn't know it was possible to talk merchants down so low. I spent close to 200 on my lame horse. She didn't even spend 250 and got both a horse and a wagon.

We arrived to find everyone ready to leave. We both hurried to our rooms and gathered our belongings. We left as a group and headed to the market carrying all of the provisions we had. We loaded it into the wagon and got the horses into place. The wagon was large and had seats along the sides. We sold off all of the spare weapons and the furs we gathered from the bandit's hideout. Again Ymira came through. What I might have been lucky to get a hundred coins for, she netted close to two-hundred. She had almost made back the money that was spent on the horse and wagon. The men got in back and we headed out. Ymira insisted on sitting up front with me. I mounted up setting my shield up against the back of the seat. We had been going on for most of the day in silence say for the bit of chatter from the back of the wagon.

"So what made you want to run a company of mercenaries?" Ymira asked curiously, "You look a little young to be leading men into battle. How old are you, Twenty-one, Twenty-two?"

"Twenty-four actually," I stated, "and I am out for… revenge."

"Revenge on whom?" she asked. Apparently I had piqued her curiosity.

"A very powerful man up north in the kingdom of the Vaegirs," I said careful not to let it slip that I was planning on taking on a king.

"What did he do to have a young man after him? You seem like you are serious, I haven't talked much with your soldiers. But I have heard something about you single-handedly saved the village of Ruldi from a hundred bandits."

I laughed heartily.

"No, no there was half that many," I said still chuckling, "and besides I didn't do much. I only really came up with the plan. The villagers did most of the work."

"Sir you're being too modest," a voice came followed by a head popping out of the wagon's cover, "this man took out the bandit leader with a single crossbow bolt. He had everything planned it was amazing he came up with it only two hours before the bandits arrived. If he hadn't have been there, the bandits would have either stolen everything, or simply burned the village and killed everyone."

I was embarrassed at having someone speak so highly of me. From a young age I was running around for nobles, they would not praise anything I did; they didn't want it to go to my head. I was praised occasionally by my master who trained me to be a squire, but only if I managed to do something perfectly, which wasn't very often.

"I was just doing what had to be done," I said scratching the back of my head. I liked the praise, but I couldn't help but think that soon I would be ordering these men to do what I had prevented from happening at Ruldi.

"So please continue," she said going back to our first topic, "what did that man do to have you after him?"

"He killed my father," I could've said that he ordered it, but I felt that his men were just an extension of his will.

She became quiet. I wasn't sure if I should have told her that.

"I'm sorry I didn't know. When did it happen?" she asked suddenly quieting her volume.

"Almost two weeks ago," I stated bluntly.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm doing fine," I said taking a small breath, "I just try to put it out of my mind."

After that, talking seemed to cease completely. I know that it was a bit of surprise but… I just couldn't let my emotions get the better of me; me falling into a bout of deep depression over my father would just be the same as letting Yaroglek win.

We were passing some of the huge mountains on our destination to see a sight. We saw at least five-hundred men walking in our direction. A banner was waving at the head of the army. The banner was blue and red stripes with a white winged serpent in the center.

"Ymira, who is that?" I asked to make sure it wasn't a Vaegir lord come for my head.

"That is the banner of Lord Tarchias, of the Rhodoks of course," she said unknowingly putting me at ease, "he is the lord of Maras castle and its village of Reveran."

The army got closer and we met with them. Halting our wagon and grabbing my shield. I hopped down and met with the lord.

"Well met sir," I said bowing a bit.

"Yes, yes who are you and what is your business," he said getting straight to the point

"My name is Treda. I am part of a noble family," I said motioning my shield, "what has happened to your army. Your men are battered and bleeding."

"I have never seen that heraldry before," he said referring to my shield. It was completely black, say for a thick white cross. My father always joked that our family heraldry meant we were the light in the darkness. "We have been at war with damned Swadians. I am on my way to Jelkala to rest my men and prepare for another attack."

"Well sir, do you have any tasks that you need completed?" I asked.

"Now that you mention it the people of Reveran, haven't paid their taxes in quite some time. I would go myself but this damned war is taking all of my time. How about you go and collect the taxes and bring the money to me. You can keep 15% of the total taxes," he said waiting for my reply.

I put some thought into it.

"I accept your offer lord," I said nodding, "where will I find you when I am done my task?"

"As you can see by the state of my men we will in Jelkala for some time. Two weeks minimum," he said giving me a good idea at how long I should have, "and Treda, if you take the taxes and run I will spend every waking moment tracking you. I will not eat or sleep until your head sits upon a pike adorning my castle walls. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes sir," I said gulping audibly.

"In that case off with you," he said turning and taking his leave.

We set off immediately after. Even by wagon we spent most of the day on the road. We arrived at the village of and bought new supplies. We tossed the remainder of the pork in a ditch outside the village. We had eaten most of it before it had gone bad, but the last thing I wanted was that rancid meat spoiling everything in the wagon. We found four men willing to join my cause. By the time we left we had almost filled the wagon to the brim with food, men and their weapons. We had one seat left in the back.

We managed to reach the town of Dumar before the sun began its decent. We found another five men to join us. When we left instead of forcing four of the men to walk we opened the back of the wagon and they hung off the end. We had been traveling for a while before we stopped and rested. We cracked into bread and cheese. Having over twenty men meant we were going to go through supplies fast.

Tying up the horses we stopped for the night. Setting up a couple of fires we readied camp. I came up with the list of how watch would work. Night seemed to drag on, even more so when I was on watch. When the sun rose we headed off again. Chatter had picked up yesterday after picking up more men. The men were swapping stories and laughing. I had Ymira, but after our talk the previous day, things had quieted between us. I hated to see that, I should have just kept my mouth shut about my father. I couldn't just lie about my motives.

We reached Reveran before nightfall. But we had spent most of the day on the road. The townspeople were happy to see us. I bought more supplies and paid with silver, which put a smile on the elders face. Of course those smiles turned to frowns when I announced we were here to gather Lord Tarchias' taxes.

"Why should we pay that bastard, we give him large amounts of food to keep his army fed. We also give food to his castle to keep the garrison fed. But when we were hounded by bandits we were turned down," the elder said becoming almost hostile, "why should we also pay a man who can't even keep us safe?"

I thought on this. I could skip gathering the taxes and get an earful from the lord and possibly punishment. Or I could force these men and women to pay.

The choice was obvious

We set up a table and Ymira sat at it. She had picked up a ledger, from where she got it I hadn't the slightest.

"Treda, this will take the rest of today and all of tomorrow, maybe even digging into the next. This will be hard work, I will have gather everyone's name and write up how much money they paid. There is more to it than that but I will not bore you with the details," she said breathing a sigh. I could see that this would be hard work.

The townspeople were unhappy at this. I was forced to pull the elder off to the side and talk sense to him. Of course by that I mean I lied through my teeth. I told him that if the townspeople didn't pay their taxes, Lord Tarchias, would arrive in force and take care of it himself, I through in some violent details to add to it. This changed his mind quickly. Before long a large portion of the village was lined up with small pouches of money. The money was put into a chest.

Things were going fine for the first day and night. The second day people were grumbling and the second night trouble struck. While I was out for a stroll several villagers attacked me. Six of them with staffs ambushed me, being a swordsman made this simple. But I had to be careful. If I killed them willy-nilly things would get complicated. As the first charged me a smashed him with my shield, as he stumbled I hit him hard with the pommel of my sword. It took a while and some fancy footwork, but I managed to take them all down without doing any serious wounds. I gathered my men who tied them up. The elder wasn't happy to be woken up so late, even less so when we through six of his fellow villagers in front of him. He apologized profusely; he promised this wouldn't happen again. He was very lucky I didn't just hang them by the table as a warning; I left that out of the conversation of course.  
>By the end of the three days we had gather close to five-thousand silver coins. I was never good with math but was told by Ymira, that, that was seven-hundred and fifty for me.<p>

I asked the elder before we left if he had anyone who would like to make a fortune in battle. He shook his head, choosing instead to give me dirty looks. Balda apologized a lot to me. He said that his friends don't even want to speak with him. I felt bad; I didn't want to put a wedge in-between friends, but that had to be done. We needed the cash. Even thou it was beginning to get dark, we headed out. I feared for our safety if we overstayed our welcome. It wasn't much but I left close to fifty Denars at the elder's home. It wouldn't repay what we had to do, but it made me feel a little better. I believe that was what those Sarranid preachers were always going on about. I believe they called it karma. They said that you must keep it in check. Too many bad deeds without good and you would find yourself without friends quickly.

As we stopped for the night Ymira camped out next to me.

"Sir, are you awake?" I heard her calling after we had all eaten and headed to our bed rolls.

"Yes what is it Ymira?" I replied keeping my tone down.

"Sir are we always going to have to do that," she said following suite in quieting down.

"We do what is necessary to survive," I stated. I could have told her about the horrors she would probably witness before my mission was completed. But she was a rather innocent girl; I didn't feel it was my right to crush such a delicate flower.

"That makes me sad," she said with sorrow in her voice.

"I think I know what you mean," I replied.

"Did you pay attention to the villagers? Some of them didn't look like they had eaten in a week," she stated unknowingly hitting me in the stomach.

I had noticed but said nothing. I noticed the starving children. I had noticed that the fields were already picked clean. But I said nothing, did nothing.

"I think that you should put it out of your mind. I know that things are horrible. But I think that we can change things," I said trying to change the subject.

"What do you mean you can change things?" she asked curiously.

"What do you mean?" I asked

"You just said you think you could change things,"

"I did not; I said we could change things,"

"Right sir…" she said letting out a deep yawn.

"Ymira, just go to sleep."

To this day I still don't know what I said. Or what she heard for that matter.

Ilvia was a sight for sore eyes. We were welcomed by the townsfolk, this time we bore no news of taxes. Purchasing more food and gathering up more men. I was extremely surprised to find ten men who wanted to join up. Of course they wanted a fee; five Denars each. I paid it of course. It was payday anyways. My other twenty men lined up and received their two coins. I slipped Ymira ten, she deserved it. With the way she handled those merchants in Jelkala and the ledgers in Reveran.

"Treda, we need to make a stop in Yalen," Ymira said to me off to the side.

"Why?" I asked curiously

"Well we need a second wagon unless you want a third of your men walking," she started, "that and if my contacts in Jelkala were correct you can make a lot of coin."

This piqued my interest.

"How so?" I asked; she had me begging to find out.

"I don't want to get your hopes up in case my sources are wrong," she said keeping it to herself, "let us stop there O.K.?"

"Agreed," I said motioning for us to get going.

Yalen was really similar to Jelkala; its walls white and the people friendly. A difference was that there was no sign of bandits lounging about. Heading off to the market we bought a second wagon and two more horses. That is when Ymira disappeared for a while. She found me and pulled me off to the side; away from the crowded market place.

"Sir my sources are correct," she said with a broad smile on her face.

"What were they correct about, if I may ask," I replied curiously.

"Sir we are going to fill the second wagon with salt," she said her smile somehow getting bigger.

"Salt?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes salt. Salt is currently being sold for less than one-hundred Denars a bag," she said quieting down.

"Yes. So?" I wasn't sure where she was going.

"It's being sold here for less than a hundred. But being bought for over two-hundred per bag in Jelkala," she caught herself from getting louder.

My jaw dropped.

"I talked to my sources. They heard salt was going down in a hurry here. We're going to spend all of the money we have on salt; then sell it all in Jelkala. We should make over ten thousand," how her smile got bigger I will never know. I was surprised it hadn't taken up her entire face.

"Wait how does that work? I don't even have fifteen-hundred Denars. What you are saying implies I have at least five thousand," I was wondering if she screwed up the math.

"Sir we have five thousand in that chest under the cart.

"You want me to spend Lord Tarchias' money?" I almost shouted my eyes widening. A couple of people looked at me before turning back to what they were doing.

"You want me to spend Lord Tarchias' money?" I said going back down to a whisper.

"Yes sir," she said nodding, "we make an additional five-thousand on top of the seven-hundred and fifty he owes you. He won't be the wiser. It's all profit no risk,"

"And if the price has dropped in Jelkala?" I asked trying to challenge her, "then we have a ton of salt, no buyers, no money and my head on a plate at Lord Tarchias' table."

"Sir you heard him he knows the job could take a while. If we go to Jelkala and the price has lowered we can just go to a different city. We make a huge sum of Denars and he still gets his money," she said winning the argument, "win, win."

I let out a deep sigh.

"Fine you win. I'll go get the chest and my purse," I said heading off.

We brought the second wagon over to the goods merchant and made our purchase. His jaw dropped when we pulled out sixty-five hundred Denars and bought sixty-five bags of salt. The men helped load up the wagon. We decided to stay the rest of the day before heading back. Even thou it hadn't been a week since Jelkala I wanted to sleep in another bed. I made sure to keep some coin. I offered to pay for everyone's room in the tavern; cheaper than and inn and less private, but more comfortable than a bed roll on the dirt.

Sitting and drinking with Ymira we began talking about random things.

"Treda, mind if I ask a question?" she asked curiously.

"Sure. What's on your mind?" I asked drinking back the last of a pint and signaling for another.

"Why did you help your men load up the cart?" she asked as if she thought I was crazy.

"Why not?" I said giving a question in return.

"Well you're the captain. You should be ordering them to do it," she said as if I had committed a crime. She finished her ale and ordered another.

"I don't know, I may be of noble blood but I wasn't privy to much special treatment. I was a page as a kid and a squire as an young adult. I was getting close to joining up with the Vaegir army as a higher up before my father was killed," I said stating the facts, "I guess I was taught to carry my own weight. Not just pass jobs onto others."

"If only kings thought that way," she said with a smile, "they spend most of their time sitting in a comfortable chair sipping wine and eating roasted pork, while they send thousands to their deaths. If only Caldaria could be united under a single banner. We could stop most of the wars and let the land and its people flourish," she let out a sigh her smiling fading, "instead we are too busy killing each other to do something like that. Even those who aren't doing the killing still profit."

"I once heard that money makes the world go round," I said nodding, 'it seems right now that that it isn't money, but blood that makes our world go round right now," I said as I finished another ale and looked up at the ceiling.

"There has to be someone who can change that," she said finished yet another mug of ale.

"Yes someone should change everything. But who could change this land of blood?" I asked looking back down.

She had her face pressed to the table.

"Ymira?" I asked puzzled, only getting light snoring in reply. I smiled at this as I walked over to her.

"Upsidaisy," I said hefting her up. I couldn't even tell she was drunk enough to pass out. For such a small women she sure could hold her alcohol.

I walked over to the counter and tossed down a couple of coins to the bartender.

"Your wife passed out, eh?" the bartender said with a smile.

"She's not my wife," I said my face feeling like it burning up a bit.

"Sure either way your a lucky man," he said keeping his smile as he went about scrubbing a mug.

Heading up stairs to the bed rolls, Ymira was mumbling in her sleep. I laid her down on one of the bed rolls. She was beautiful, flowing blonde hair and a gorgeous figure. Her cleavage was visible her breathing lifting her chest up and down. I turned away my face burning.

"You really are an interesting man Treda," Ymira mumbled yawning.

"Hmm, what do you mean?" I said quickly afraid she had caught my gaze.

"I'm sure any other man down there would have either left me there or tried something up here," she said eyes closed, smiling.

"Doesn't seem right to take advantage of someone. I guess I was raised that way," I said tucking her in and letting out a small breath of relief.

"Ya, thank you…" she didn't finish before I heard snoring.

I followed suite going to my own bed roll. The difference was she was sleeping; I was just staring at the ceiling thinking. I had thirty men under my command; I needed to get a lot more than that. I would also need a lot more than five-thousand Denars to get all the weapons, provisions, horses, wagons and soldiers I would need. I had some plans to get a lot of coin to fill our coffers.

The problem was I could think of nothing that wouldn't end in bloodshed.

**I hope you guys (all what, ten of you) have enjoyed reading thus far. I have no ETA on when chapter five will be started. Probably soon but it won't be done for a while.**


	5. Chap 5 The Burning

**Sixty-two hundred words, new record. Not much to say this chapter, just the usual read and review.  
>Enjoy.<strong>

Awaking early seemed to becoming a habit for me. I got up to find most of the bed rolls in the room empty. Ymira was still snoring lightly. I wondered if she would be sick from all of the drinking from the previous night. I went down stairs and drank with my men until everyone was up. Ymira came down the stairs groggily.

"What time is it?" she asked suppressing a yawn.

"Just about time for us to make start our journey back to Jelkala," I said finishing my pint.

"Bartender, ale," she said chugging back the drink.

Where she put her alcohol I'll never know. Even thou she was drunk enough to pass out the previous night she could swig back a pint like it was a shot of fine Vaegir vodka. After she finished her second pint we headed out.

The first half of our journey comprising of the first day went fine. When the second day hit noon we ran into trouble.

"Well hello there sir," A dark haired man wearing a full set of leather armor said as he halted us.

"Hello, may I ask why you are stopping our travels and blocking our path?" I asked hoping it wasn't trouble. An arrow struck my shield pinning it to the seat and dashing my hopes.

"My friends and I," he said as several men came out of hiding, "would just like to relief you of your coin."

Without hesitation I tossed him a tiny pouch. He picked it up and peered inside.

"Four coins? Are you trying to be funny boy?" He said throwing the pouch to the ground, "you're traveling with a beautiful woman dressed in fine cloths and two covered wagons. I don't believe you," he snarled and motioned for one of his men, "Braiden, search the wagon."

A man with a longbow over his shoulder and a short sword at his side began towards our wagon.

"You merchants are all the same, greedy pigs that won't even put out a few silver coins for guards. Well I guess it works in our favor. No fight," he said smiling, "unless you want to play hero."

"That's where your wrong sir," I said innocently, "you see I do have guards. Or I guess you can't see," the man just smiled as if calling a bluff, I turned to Ymira, "in a second we're going to jump into the back of wagon behind the seat," without changing her expression she nodded slowly.

Just then the man reached the back of the wagon. As far as I can tell, Balda picked up the man and without hesitation or strain, broke his neck. I heard the thud as he was dropped and things got out of control quickly. We both hopped into the back of the wagon as at least half a dozen arrows slammed into the front seat.

"Sir what's the plan?" Balda asked.

"We've got to get out of the wagon and to cover. I've got a plan everyone follow me. I made my way over all of the bags of salt and hopped out the back running to the second wagon. I quickly talked with the driver of our second wagon.

"No Treda, you are not doing that. What about the salt?" Ymira said grabbing my shoulder.

"It's the salt or our lives. Do you want to die?" I said shaking her.

"N-no," she stammered shrinking back.

"Then follow me," I said as the wagon was getting into position. The driver cut the horses loose and sent them running. He then hopped off the side to avoid getting turned into a pin cushion. The men from the second wagon had already hopped out and helped as we tipped the wagon. We ripped the cover off and broke the wooden arches that kept up the cover. We then used it as a wall.

"Ymira I need you to stay here and keep your head down," I said loading up my crossbow and checking my quiver.

"You can't go," she said pleadingly.

"I'm sorry but I can't just send out others to cover for me. If I had chosen a different route we might not be in this situation," I said standing up a bit.

"But… What if you don't come back," she said quietly.

"I'll come back fine, I promise,"

"I'll hold you to that," she said forcing a smile.

I sent out a half dozen men with crossbows to left and I led another half dozen to the right. The battle dragged on for almost two hours. If it had half been a straight up confrontation we would been on our way in five minutes. It turned into a game of cat and mouse. Both sides were mainly using ranged weapons. A man would shoot off an arrow and get two in return. But with all the trees it wasn't always easy to hit a man. I admit I was terrified; I stood there pressed to a tree never knowing if I was going to be the next to go. I watched one of the Dumar boys get hit in the neck. It was probably one of the most terrible things I had witnessed up till that point. My father's death had been instant the Ruldi boy at the bandit camp had been probably instant. Watching that man of twenty-two lying there trying to scream but lacking the ability, had been horrifying, knowing that if I tried to go out and help would just give that archer the chance to do me in.

I knew that I had to try to stop thinking about things too much, so I left him without remorse. I crept around crawling on my belly. I found the archer hiding behind a bush keeping an eye out. I fired a bolt hitting him in the chest. He fell backwards with a yelp. I stood up and walked over to him. He made a reach for a knife but I stepped on his hand. Looking at that man lying there, a helpless look of terror on his face that should have made me reconsider what I did next. I stepped onto his neck and pressed my foot down. He tried to get my foot off to no avail. I just waited until he stopped squirming before I went back, to find the Dumar boy had stopped moving too. I let out a sigh; at least he was out of his misery. Having no medical training the most I could have done was prolong his suffering. I then went off in search of other bandits. Then I heard my men calling to me from the road.

I was just heading back when I felt a sting in my leg. Looking down there was a large arrow sticking out of my leg. I fell to one knee. Then my attacker came out from behind a tree.

"So boy you've killed a lot of my hired help. But I guess I'll kill you and then go after that pretty woman. I think that will make me feel better," he said with an evil grin.

"Don't you touch her you bastard," I snarled at him.

"Oh hit a soft spot did I?" he said laughing, "Makes the soon to be conquest all the sweeter."

He drew closer and pulled out a short sword. It took some effort but I stood up tall. I pulled out my own sword and pointed it at him.

"I'm going to kill you," I said through gritted teeth.

"Ha, you can barely stand," he said with a smirk as he charged forward.

I blocked his blow; barely. I took a swing which connected. But his damned armor protected him from what have been at least a cut. He danced about and took another swing. He managed to get around my defense and gave my left arm a deep cut. I howled in anger. I could already feel the blood loss beginning to affect my swordsmanship. Using everything I had left I delivered several wild blows. He raised his sword to block the blows. His defense crumbled a bit more after each hit. With a mighty strike I smashed through his block and delivered a deep cut through his armor. He stumbled back and I delivered a swing to his sword arm, a deep cut to his wrist that caused him to drop his sword. Before he could say anything I swung once more, a tight arc that sliced clear through the front half of his neck. He dropped to his knees, blood pouring forth from the deep gash. His eyes widened as I stepped forward and delivered a clean stab through his chest. He stopped moving and fell backwards; I let out a breath before collapsing to my knees.

It took all of my energy to get back up. I was using my sword like an old man uses a cane. I arrived at the road to find my men piling bodies. Ymira ran towards me shouting. I could barely hear her.

"Treda!" she shouted it sounded almost fuzzy.

"I-I'm fine," I managed to say falling to my knees again.

"Men!" she shouted. Balda jogged over and picked me up. The men had tipped the wagon back up. They put me up on the wagon on the seat; they already loaded most of the salt up so the floor wasn't an option.

"Y-you guys saved the salt, g-good let's get back to Jelkala and sell…" I muttered losing consciousness.

I awoke two days later. I found myself in a nice room my shirt missing and my left arm bandaged up. Sitting up I noticed that the sun was just beginning it accent. I turned to see Ymira, sitting in a chair next to me. She had her eyes closed and was snoring lightly.

"Ymira?" I said shaking her leg.

She made a weird noise and kept snoring.

"Ymira," I said a bit louder. Her eyes snapped open and she grabbed me.

"Thanks the gods you're alright!" She said pulling me in tighter.

I was surprised to say the least. I wasn't sure how long she had been waiting for me to gain consciousness. I just let her hold me for a moment. That was the first time someone held me in an embrace like that.

"Could you loosen up a bit? My arm is killing me," I said as she loosened her hug.

"Sorry. It's just, you're awake and you're ok," she said with a smile.

"Ya, it was only a flesh wound," I said standing up on shaky legs.

"A-a flesh wound? Your arm, your leg," she said as fell back on my butt.

"Ya I'm fine, I'll be up in no time. What happened while I was out?" I asked changing the subject.

"We buried several bodies, there's… and ours," she said slowly.

"How many?" I asked not wanting to hear the number.

"Five dead, seven wounded," she said shaking her head, "including you eight."

"Gods," I said "I can't belive I got five men killed."

"No it's not your fault…"

"Don't you remember what I said? If I had have picked a different route or chosen a better plan those men might still be alive,"

"How are you going to achieve your goals Treda? How are you going to get your revenge?" she asked sitting down next to me, "you can't take the blame for something out of your control."

I just let out a deep sigh. I knew she was right, but finding out you just lost some men that just days ago you were swapping stories over a pint, who are now buried under six feet of earth. It was a little hard to swallow. I thought back to my plans to gather us more money. I realized I would be just sitting in a wagon while others did my dirty work. I wanted to be part of the evil work I was going to be ordering. At least then I could put it out of my mind. I wouldn't be just putting those deeds on other people's souls.

"A couple of questions," I said putting my priorities straight, "one, how much did we make off the salt."

"We made…" she said pulling out a small book, "thirteen-thousand four-hundred and thirteen Denars."

My jaw dropped.

"How?" I practically shouted.

"Well my contacts were correct. The price was over two-hundred a bag here so we made a killing," she said closing the book, "what was the second question?"

"When will I be fit to fight?" I said motioning to my bandaged leg.

"The doctor that we brought you to said you were lucky," she said breathing a sigh, "he said that you were lucky that the arrow didn't hit a bone or you would be off it for at least a month. You should be able to walk without aid in less than a week. He said that the cut isn't too serious and should be fit to use the arm in a few days."

I was relieved, or maybe I wasn't. Sure just moments before I was thinking about how much I wanted to be part of the horrors to come, now being told that very possible I was having second thoughts. My mind just couldn't seem to work itself out. I found it easier just to shove the problems to the side.

"Come on let's get going," I said attempting to stand again.

"Eh? Where are we going in your condition?" she said quickly trying to hold me back.

"I have to go see Lord Tarchias," I said grabbing my shirt from the night table.

"Why now?" Ymira said pleadingly, "can't it wait a couple of days? So you are at least feeling a little better."

"No I want to get it out of the way now," I said slipping on my shirt and grabbing my weapons from the wall, "where is my shield?" I asked suddenly aware that it was missing.

"In the wagon its fine just a couple of arrows stuck in it."

I remembered that I had been forced to leave it on the seat when we had hopped into the wagon.

"Ok let's get going," I said using the sword as a cane again.

"Captain you up already?" I heard Balda call out as we walked down the stairs, "we've been drinking to your health. Glad to see you up and walking about, but Ymira, said you're supposed to be in bed for close to a week."

"He is supposed to, but he insists on seeing Lord Tarchias now," she said sounding annoyed and worried.

"Fine I'll go settle things with Tarchias, and head back to bed. Will that make you happy?" I asked quietly, turning to her.

"Yes it will," she said nodding.

"Fine let's go," I said heading out the door.

Tarchias was staying at the kings castles. We had a bit of trouble getting through the front entrance but after they confirmed our story they let us past, only after taking all of our weapons. Using my sword arm I helped Ymira, carry to chest of coins.

"Ah Treda," Tarchias said walking down the steps in the throne room, "what the hell happened to you?"

"We were attacked on our way back from Yalen, just a few bandits sir, nothing my men and I couldn't handle," I said leaning on the piece of wood the guards had given me to replace my sword cane.

"Damn these bandits around here. Wait unless it was an enormous horde of bandits, why would they attack an army. Just how many men do you have under you Treda?" he asked suspiciously.

"Thirty-one, well now, twenty-six," I said shaking my head.

"You had thirty-one men guarding my money. You damned fool; if these taxes were stolen it would be your blood paying for the loss. A word of advice; mercenaries might be a tad expensive to the normal man. But they are usually experienced soldiers and are useful until you can better equip and train normal men. Take for example how the different kingdoms raise their armies. Noblemen might raise sons to fight, but that doesn't mean they want their lives on the line. Instead the kingdoms will recruit peasants, and as the men train and learn they are given better weapons and armor. They will get used to being soldiers and will work for less pay than a mercenary, even thou they may be just as good if not better," he said finishing his lecture, "changing the subject how much did you collect?"

We placed the chest on one of the chairs at the long tables. I opened the lid and he inspected its contents.

"How much is in there?" he inquired.

"Exactly five-thousand-one-hundred and twenty-six coins," Ymira said handing him her ledger.

He flipped through the book, a small smile on his face.

"Good, good," he said sounding almost surprised, "you managed to get every Denar they owed."

"Is that a surprise?" I asked.

"Well usually they try to short my tax collectors. What is your secret?" he asked curiously.

"A little talk with the town elder and I was able to… persuade him to talk with the villagers to make sure everything was paid.

His smile grew and he nodded.

"Good job. As we agreed fifteen percent," he said pulling out a pouch and pouring in coins.

"Thank-you sir," I said bowing as Ymira curtsied, "well we must be off,"

"I may call on you again for another task Treda," he said watching us leave.

"It would be my honor to accept Lord Tarchias," I said as we hurried along.

Retrieving our weapons from the guards we headed back to the tavern. We arrived and I decided against going straight to resting. I walked over to one of the tables, ordered an ale and pulled out my map. I knew where the final destination was, but I was charting the stops along the way.

"Treda, I thought we had an agreement," Ymira huffed.

"I know, I know. It's just that a lot is going to happen over the next couple of week and we need to ready," I said pointing out several towns, "we're going to be stopping at these towns before heading out. But before we leave here we're going to need provisions, weapons and armor. Now before you drag me to go rest I'm going to write out a list of supplies I need you to get."

"Fine, fine," she said in defeat.

"Good," I said beginning on the list. I was not only taking my current men into account. I had to take some other things into account; new recruits, weapons, more provisions, loot, and prisoners. I sent Balda and a few other men with her along with both wagons. I then hobbled up the stairs back to my room. Upon entering I carefully lay down and slept. I awoke the next day only to spend it in bed. Ymira might just be a woman but she could be damned persuasive.

After a few days of resting I was able to leave the comfort of my bed. I went down stairs carefully and went outside to the wagons. I pulled out the second copy of the list and checked things off. The extra provisions check. Thirty-six crossbows with bolts check. Sixty board shields check. Thirty-five sets of leather armor check. Twenty-five spears check. Twenty-five sets of bronze chainmail check. We also had almost two dozen short swords that were taken from the bandits bodies. Upon inspection of the shields my jaw dropped. Each one was adorned with my heraldry. That boosted my spirit. I no longer felt like some mercenary captain running around with some band of faceless soldiers. I felt like a powerful noble leading his men into battle.

Even thou most of my money had gone towards all of the equipment and provisions I knew it would be worth it, I was only lucky that my men looted the bodies; if not for all the bows, arrows and quivers I would have spent almost everything we had. I also checked out the three new wagons. I was beginning to feel more like I was running a caravan and less a band of soldiers.

I rested for close to a full week before we were ready. I led my men to the wagons where I began equipment changes. Most of my men used crossbows. I swapped out their twenty hunting crossbows for normal more powerful crossbows. I gave each one of them a set of leather armor and a board shield. The five men (mainly from Buvran) switched out their weapons for spears and short swords; they also each got a set of chainmail and a board shield. The old equipment could be given to raw recruits. We headed out that day heading for Chaeza. As we had no one on foot we were making good time. But wagons weren't as fast as having everyone on horseback, but I barely had the funds to arm everyone, let alone get them their own horses. The Khergits could do that. It's said that the Khergit people are born and die on the saddle. I don't know how much of that is true but I had seen the Khergit fight and I have to say I believe it.

We made it to Chaeza before nightfall where we had seven men join up. A few of them had their own equipment but we armed the others with the old weapons. We camped outside the village and left at the crack of dawn. By mid-day we had arrived at Emer. We had four men join there. From there we headed to Saramish. We could have made it by nightfall, but I said we were going the long way around the forest. Nobody joined up in Saramish. It took us almost two days but we made it to Serinder, five more men, another day, seven more at Pagundur where we got some extra provisions. That put forty-nine men under my command. After Pagundur I explained what we were going to do.

"Everyone you have been talking amongst yourselves as to where we are headed next. Some hope to go back to Jelkala for a nice pint and a warm bed roll," I said standing in the back of one of the wagons.

There was happy murmuring in the crowd.

"But," I said quieting them, "that is not the case. We are heading into Swadian territory. I know that your country is at war with them. I say let us help your country. We are going to loot the village of Ibiran."

They were now sounding rather excited. I knew that the Swadians and Rhodoks had been enemies about as far back as we had written history of the two. I was using that to my advantage.

"We are heading out in a few minutes. Pack up your things we are going to war," I said hopping down and heading to the head wagon.

"Treda, are we really going to loot Ibiran?" Ymira asked as if I was lying to my men.

"Yes we are," I said watching her sadden.

"Oh," she said sadly.

"Look you might be under my command but I won't ask you to be a part of this," I said putting a hand to her shoulder.

"Really?" she asked perking up only slightly.

"Yes I couldn't force you to do something like that. I don't think I would be able to live with myself," I said smiling slightly.

"Thank you," she said as she turned from me and mounted up on the wagon.

Ymira and I traveled in silence. The men however were talking happily. We had to be careful in our travels. We took the long path to our destination avoiding the town of Uxkhal. It took almost two days but we got there. The village was a serene place. The villagers walked about their daily lives unaware of the things to come. They were gathering crops and preparing luxury items for the towns of Swadia. The town appeared very prosperous. They had large baskets of furs stacked ready to leave. Several rolls of fine silk and velvet ready to be turned into various things for nobles. They seemed to have everything, ale, fine wine, even a couple pots of honey, along with the normal things, bread, cheese and dried meats.

I had everyone ready up in the back of the wagons. As we rode up the town elder came out to greet us. His hair was white like snow and his body frail.

"Hello their traveler. Have you come to buy some of our goods? Although most of this is going to be sold in Suno, we can afford to sell some to you," he said with a smile on his face.

I turned to Ymira, "get in the back I don't want you to have to witness this."

"No I think I should," she said staying put.

I didn't want to have to continue but I did. I swung my crossbow out and shot the elder. He was only ten paces away, unarmored. The bolt slammed into his chest sending his frail body backwards like a doll.

The townspeople were just staring, then chaos. My men emerged out from the back of the wagons. People were screaming and running. I ordered my men to form a wall. The street was in panic. The men lined up and twenty crossbows bolts left in a volley. People fell like puppets that had their strings cut. The front row crouched and the new men fired. Another fifteen bolts into the crowd. Even if a few planned on fighting they weren't able to mount a defense in time. We were already in the village and had the upper hand in terms of weapons and armor.

Then I headed the charge with the spearmen. It became a swirling melee. I found myself slashing anyone who got to close. I found that in battle you lose your humanity completely. I killed the old, the men and the women. Blood spurted as I cleaved a man's head in half before slashing a woman's stomach causing her to spill her innards. Then the fires started. A few of my men grabbed torches and began to light houses up. Having tight bundles of dried straw and twigs only made the job easier for them.

We then stopped killing and began to grab people. The ones that were cowering were easy. Men were patrolling the streets with crossbows. We tied up the prisoner's hands and feet and loaded them into the back of the last wagon. We then loaded up the goods. We made the pricier items priority; loading up the fur, silk, velvet and fine wines first. We then turned to things like ale, dried meats, honey, bread and butter. We spent most of the day gathering everything. We even found that the townspeople had a couple of unused wagons near the stables. We took those and the horses and loaded up even more goods. By the time we left, the village was in ruin. Bodies littered the street and black smoke was being coughed for miles up into the air. We had thirty peasants tied up in the back of one of the wagons. We travelled during the night when we would have been campin. If we camped we would have been target for the men coming to investigate what happened at the village. The men were quiet. Not because of the horrors they were just a part of, but because they didn't want to attract the attention of any Swadian patrols in the vicinity.

"How could you do that?" Ymira asked quietly as we traveled.

"What do you mean?" I asked returning her quiet tone.

"How could you do that to those people? How could you shoot that man? How could you kill all those people, order others to kill those people," she said bombarding me with questions.

"I do what I have to, in these troubled time that means killing people," I said with a sigh.

"It's just that you killed those people without any remorse." she said tears beginning to fall from her emerald green eyes, "why did you have to kill those people?"

"I said I didn't want you to watch. I know that it was wrong to kill those people. But I also know that, that won't be the last evil thing I'm going to do. But as a man once said; desperate times call for desperate measures."

"No. I can't accept that. Yes you might have needed those supplies but you didn't need to kill those people. Why did you even bother taking prisoners? Why didn't you just let those people go?" she said tears streaming down her face and anger in her voice.

"Slaves," I said bluntly.

"S-slaves?" she said surprised.

"Yes back home we had slave traders coming in town. They pay good money for healthy people," I said almost nonchalantly.

"By the gods," she said her voice just above a whisper, "how can you do something like that?"

"I am going to do what it takes to get my revenge," I said solemnly.

"What will you do once you've gotten revenge on whomever it was that wronged you?" she asked trying to find a flaw in my plan.

"I am going to take his kingdom."

"His. Kingdom?" she asked surprised.

"Yes, I said someone in power killed my father. That man was King Yaroglek. If you had have asked me over a month ago where I would draw the line working in the Vaegir military; I would have told you I wouldn't take part in the looting of villages," I said "Now I will do whatever it takes to get the money for my cause. I will throw that bastard down the steps of his castle."

"Where will you draw the line?" she said accusingly, "you aren't even under a countries flag and you have begun to wage war. What did those Swadians do to you? They are at war with the Rhodoks. Not you, there is a difference."

"Yes but as a freelancer I have to perk of attacking who I like when I like,"

"Ha to believe you said you would change things. It looks like if you do succeed in taking down Yaroglek the country will be replacing one stupid man with another. At least he announces war with a country rather than just waltzing in and butchering a village," she said with a smug tone.

"By the gods I don't know what else to do. I was raised in the arts of tactics and war," I said giving her a bit of my younger years, "I was taught that in war the lines blur, that villages do burn, castles and towns fall under new powers several times a year. Hell the town of Dhirim is constantly switching hands between the Swadians and the Khergit. Do you think that those battles are won without bloodshed?" I asked quickly, "I know that nobody got to power with clean hands. Good gods Ymira, do you think I like doing what I did. It was my first time doing such a thing and I know that it won't be the last. You just sat on the wagon; I was the one who had to look at the faces of those people as I killed them. Hell I don't know why I killed them. I could have just forced them out. Something just took over."

"Look, Treda, I know that you aren't some sick man who needs to kill. But I just sat there watching as you just walked down the street slashing at anything within reach. You didn't hesitate you didn't slow down you just did it," she said hugging herself, "I'm scared of you."

She couldn't have surprised me more if she had stabbed me.

"I scare you?" I asked looking at her.

"Treda, have you looked at your reflection?" she asked.

"What do you mean have I looked at my reflection?" I said curiously.

"How have you not looked at your hands?" she asked inching away.

I looked down to find my hands colored red with blood, almost up to my elbows. It was becoming crusted from drying. I felt my face to find it feeling like my hands.

"Gods," I muttered.

"How did you not notice?" she asked sounding scared.

"I. I just…" I couldn't think of anything. Everything happened so fast. I shot the elder and then the volleys and then the melee. Gods I didn't even realize I was covered in blood. She thought she was scared; hell I was scared.

"Do you have some water?" I asked hoarsely.

"Here," she said handing me a canteen and taking the reins.

I splashed some of the cold water on my hands and began to rub them quickly. The blood just wouldn't seem to come off, even after it did. I did the same to my face and just sat there for a while.

"Ymira, I want to apologize," I said sincerely.

"What for?" she asked curiously.

"For not leaving you in Jelkala," I said honestly.

"What do you mean?"

"If I had have just left you, you wouldn't have had to see any of that. You'd be happy drinking in a tavern somewhere. Instead of scared, sitting in a wagon in the middle of the night with a man covered in blood."

"Look, yes I wouldn't have witness that. But I have enjoyed traveling with you. Until you found me and took me in, I was just waiting to be found by my father. I knew that I had nowhere to run and the road is no place for a lone woman. You've given me hope and happiness and for that I thank you. I just can't stand watching you kill innocents."

"Then I won't."

"Wait that easily?" she asked as if I had just told her I learned how to fly.

"I think that we can get money by stealing supplies, I will try to avoid casualties," I said raising my hand as if making a vow, "but if the townspeople fight back I will have to turn to force."

She nodded and looked at me.

"Thank you," she said smiling her eyes kind of puffy.

"I just don't want to see you cry," I said as I wiped her eyes with a now sort of clean hand.

She blushed and looked away.

"Stupid," she muttered.

I just smiled and looked forward. I had no Idea why I made a promise I might not be able to keep. But if I could just stop seeing Ymira sad I guess I could try and figure something out.

**Well that's it for now. Come on let's see a review or two. I know you guys are out there. **


	6. Chap 6 Slaves and Cold Desert Nights

**Okay everyone here is chapter six. This was interesting to write and I hope you enjoy it. I would like to give The Red Dove and thank you. A signed review, alert and favorite all in one made my day. Come on people follow his example. Read and review.**

Everything was black, I felt like I was drifting. I heard something; was it shouting? I saw a light and felt myself drifting closer. A man with white hair was standing then he fell backwards a bolt sticking out of his chest. He landed with a bloody thump and then darkness. I then saw a woman with terror written on her face as she grabbed at her guts as they fell from a long cut along her stomach. A man was trying to flee only to receive a crossbow bolt to the back. A man screaming as he crawled away before a sword pierced his back. Why was I being forced to relive what I had done? I wanted it to stop, Gods I regret what I had did I just wanted those images to stop. I tried to scream to find my throat tight. I heard someone calling my name.

"Treda," the voice called.

Where was it coming from?

"Treda," the voice said getting louder.

My eyes snapped open and I found myself back in the wagon. My clothes were stuck to my skin due to a layer of sweat. I turned to find Ymira, who had her hand on my shoulder.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Y-yes," I stammered.

"Are you sure? You looked like you were having night terrors," she said with a hint of worry in her voice.

"I'm fine, really," I said assuring her, "just a dream," I muttered

"That's good," she said suspiciously.

"When did I fall a sleep?" I asked remembering where we were.

"A few hours ago," she stated, "After yesterday I'm surprised you didn't fall asleep sooner."

I saw Jelkala coming into view and I breathed a sigh of relief; we had made it back into the Rhodoks territory unharmed.

"Treda."

"Yes?"

"Are you really going to sell those people into slavery?" she asked toning her voice down.

"Why? Do you think we shouldn't?" I asked.

"I'm curious, because I don't think you should," she said almost pleadingly, "we already took so much from them."

"And if I said I was going to anyways?" I asked curiously.

"I would accept it but it would pain me to see it," she said sorrowfully.

"I guess it wouldn't be a huge loss to our profits," I said perking her interest.

"Really?" she said surprised.

"Yes when we get to the city, I'll get to releasing the peasants, you go and sell the goods in the market. We'll meet at the tavern we stayed at a while ago," I said nodding.

"Thank you," she said cheerfully as she pulled me into an awkward hug. We were still sitting on the wagon.

Eventually we hit the town gates. I hopped off and headed to the last of the wagons.

"Hold up," I said to the man with the reins.

"Yes sir," he said questioningly.

"Stop the wagon for a moment," I said hopping up on to the seat.

"Sir," he said in his same questioning tone.

"This will just take a moment."

The other wagons kept moving into the city until they turned a corner.

"Ok head in," I said motioning forward, "left here."

"Where are we going?" he asked curiously.

"Before we left I asked the bartender where I might sell off certain merchandise," I said nodding my head to the back of the wagon.

The man nodded.

We reached a man who wore fine black robes with a hood covering his eyes.

"Sir may I ask why you are here?" the man asked unmoving.

"I am looking to dispose of some… cargo," I said carefully.

"May I inspect your… cargo?" he asked.

"Be my guest," I said as he headed to the back of the wagon. After a moment he headed back to the front.

"How many are there?" he inquired.

"Thirty; twenty males and ten females," I stated.

"They appear unharmed and healthy. I will give you thirty Denars each," he said motioning to a couple of men.

"That'll do," I said nodding.

The men came forward and began to forcefully pull people from the wagon. The Hooded man pulled out a coin purse from seemingly nowhere and tossed it to me. I opened it and counted quickly; everything was accounted for. After the wagon was empty we left. I clipped the pouch to my belt and turned to the driver.

"Listen here. Not a damned word of what I just did leaves this wagon," I said to seriously.

"Sir?" he asked curiously.

"I mean it soldier. If anyone asks we let the slaves go and sent them back to the remains of their town."

"If you say so," the man said looking forward again.

I hate to say that I considered killing the man next to me. I could come up with some tall tale. Weather it was that he left or disappeared. But I restrained the thoughts and we continued on. We met up with the rest of the company as planned.

Everyone was talking happily and drinking. Ymira, was drinking by herself as usual, I grabbed a pint and sat next to her.

"So the peasants were set free?" Ymira asked curiously.

"Yes," I said lying with a smile. Gods it hurt to lie to her but I couldn't tell the truth.

She practically jumped at me bringing me into an embrace and we fell to the ground.

"Thank you," she whispered.

We just lay there for a moment. As we got up I could feel my face burning up and saw that she was blushing herself. I quickly gulped down my pint and signaled for another. The bartender walked over and gave us both another round.

"Ha and you said you weren't together," the bartender whispered to me as he set down the mugs.

I couldn't think of anything to say which got a louder laugh from the bartender as he headed back to his post.

"What did he say?" Ymira asked questioningly.

"N-nothing," I said quickly.

"Right," she said as if knowing I wasn't being honest.

"On a different note, how much money did we make?" I asked changing the subject.

She pulled out that ledger she was making a habit of carrying.

"Let's see, we made fourteen-thousand-four-hundred and fifty-two Denars," she said closing the book.

I was literally speechless. Luxury items fetched a high price, I supposed even more so in the capital city of a nation. The city had its poor sections, but it also had more of the upper crust of the Rhodok population that any other town in its nation. We would have money for new equipment and provisions. We would have to set off for further towns to gather more recruits. I decided it was time for some new equipment of my own.

"Ymira, could you do me a favor?" I asked her watching her down another pint.

"Sure Treda. What did you have in mind?" she asked.

"I want to get some equipment at the market and I was wondering if you could accompany me and help me haggle," I asked hopefully.

"Sure," she said standing up.

"Thanks," I said as we headed to the wagons.

We headed to the market to the blacksmith. The balding man standing over the forge was a sight to behold. He would give Balda, a run for his money. The giant of a man was hammering at a sword. He lifted the red hot blade off the anvil and put it into a barrel of water; steam rising with a hiss.

"What can I do you for," the man asked picking up a new blade from the forge.

"I am looking to purchase a weapon and armor."

"What did you have in mind?"

"I'm looking for a full set of chainmail, a helmet with a visor, a set of boots, a set of gauntlets, a war cleaver and a new round shield," I said ticking off my fingers.

"Fine sir, my apprentice will get you fitted. But before that how about we start discussing cost."

"How about your apprentice gets the armor fitted while you talk to my friend here," I said nodding to Ymira, "she handles my finances."

"As you wish sir, Jara," He called.

A boy ran out of the building.

"Yes sir?" he asked.

"Take this man and get him suited up with a set of chainmail, a clamshell helmet, iron boots, iron gauntlets, a war cleaver and a round shield."

"Yes sir," he said motioning for me to follow.

Entering I was in awe. There were racks of weapons of every shape and size. Several suites of armor made from various metals with several styles of helmets; from pot helmets and kettle helmets to ones that resembled faces.

"Vlumir is an artist. The way he works steel is extraordinary, I'm just lucky he took me as his apprentice," the boy said walking me to the end of the building, "stand right here sir," he said heading to several racks.

He grabbed several items and came over. He helped me out of my leather and into the equipment and got it fitted. It was like a glove tailored for me. I was draped in chainmail, including gloves. The helmet even with the visor down offered me good vision. This boy was right, his master was a true craftsman. He then got me the cleaver and shield. The cleaver was a vicious looking weapon. With a blade several paces long with deep grooves at the end this thing was made for hacking and slashing. The cleaver was almost weightless, the shield more than made up for it, but this equipment was amazingly well made; it also had a price to match.

"Five-thousand Denars?" I said in disbelief.

"That's what I talked him down to."

"Gods, I don't want to think about what you talked him down from," I said shaking my head, "well let's pay the man and leave."

She nodded and began to count the coins.

"Thank you for your business sir," the blacksmith said continuing to hammer steel.

"Ymira, I need to get one more thing," I said heading off.

I went and found a tailor and got a tabard made. I had to wait a couple of hours but it was worth it to don my family colors. After that we headed back to the tavern to plan our next move.

"Treda, while you were lounging around waiting for your tabard I was talking to my contacts. They say that demand for iron should rise tremendously in Shariz," Ymira said pointing out a town on the map. It was in the Sarranid Sultanate. That was good, the Sarranids and the Rhodoks had been at peace for a few months. It also occurred to me that the Rhodoks didn't have any outstanding problems with the Sarranids; meaning I would be able to secure recruits from Sarranid towns. I mapped out our route with Ymira.

We bought a huge amount of iron bars from the market along with more provisions. That left us almost broke… again. We left the city the following morning and headed southbound; before noon we had picked up six men in Ibdeles. Close to eight hours eastbound later we had made it to Chelez; we picked up two men there and left quickly. We stopped in Jamiche for the night where three men joined up. From Jamiche you could just about see the Sarranid desert. It would be my first time in the desert and I had already heard a lot; not just from my men. I had heard about the rolling sand dunes and the roving bandits. They rode camels and desert horses and struck quickly and without warning. The Sarranids are known for light infantry and cavalry. I hadn't seen them in battle but I had heard much as I said. They used devastating scimitars and other curved blades along with Jarrids and bows. I had been planning since I started my company how I would make my army. I knew that soon I would be ready for my first strikes against the Vaegirs.

Before the sun began its trip across the sky we headed out. We weren't quick enough to beat the sun from hitting the sky as we reached the desert. It was completely alien to me. The sun wasn't unpleasant in Rhodok country. Just twenty minutes into the desert and sweat was pouring down my back; and I wasn't even walking. I had to make sure I didn't push the horses to hard; the last thing I wanted was them passing out… or worse.

It should have taken three hours, but it took seven. We had to slow down considerably for the horse's sake. Not even thinking, all we had brought was ale. The men didn't mind to crack into the kegs, the horses however. After the seven hours we reached Hawaha. My jaw was slack, the town was beautiful. The buildings of the Vaegirs were dark and had an age to them; the buildings of the Rhodoks had a light gray almost white color. The buildings of the Sarranids were white as snow. The roofs were flat, not needing to have deep slants as it almost never rained in the Sarranid desert. We were greeted by veiled women and men with odd looking hats and head wraps. I found that village elder a man in his late fifties helping around the town.

"Greetings traveler," the man greeted me in an odd accent.

"I am Treda of house Helmaer," I said introducing myself, "I am looking for anyone who wants to seek their fortune in war."

"I can think of quite a few who would jump at such an opportunity. But you aren't one of us. How do I know that you won't just use them as hostages when our next war with the Rhodoks rolls around? Or you won't just kill them for the fun of it."

"Rhodoks?" I inquired.

"You think I don't know what they look like?" he asked pointing to the men in the wagon.

"I have hired these men from the Rhodoks territory, yes. But I have no ties with the country itself," I said truthfully, "I'm not the kind of man who would sell humans for a bit of coin," I said lying through my teeth.

"Anyone can say that, but I'm still not sure," he said still unsure of his answer.

"What about if I give you five Denars for each man who joins up? You can keep it as collateral and put it towards the village," I suggested.

"Hmm, that might just work," he thought aloud, "you have yourself a deal. I might not be in my prime, but I swear that you better not do anything to my people," he said as threatening as an old man could.

"You have my word I will not do these men harm."

The elder then headed off. He came back with seventeen men. I couldn't believe my eyes.

"Now then Treda, where is the coin?" the elder asked.

"Treda, we don't have enough money to pay him for everyone. We barely have enough for five," Ymira whispered.

"It's ok I've got it," I said pulling out a pouch of money. I pulled out eighty-five Denars and trickled them into the elder's hands. The men headed to the end of our line of wagons and got on board without a word. They each had a short curved blade at his side and a bag of Jarrids at his back. They all had full sets of cloths and head wraps. Gods I will never understand how they do that. I had of course taken off my chain mail but I was still sweating. These men didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

We then headed south-east towards Ayn Asuadi. We reached the village to find it the same stunning white as Hawaha. We only managed to get eight recruits. I ended up having to pay the elder of Asuadi too. I swear these men were in communication on how to get as much money from me as possible.

As we were heading towards Shariz I noticed the sun beginning to lower. I was happy that the sun would no longer be beating down upon my head. We would travel all night if we had to so we wouldn't have to travel during the day.

I noticed something off to my right. It was one of the men we had picked up jogging next to the wagon.

"Gods soldier what are doing?" I asked surprised.

"Sir we're going to have to stop soon," he said a hint of urgency in his voice.

"Why would we do that soldier? The sun is almost down, without it beating down on us and the horses we should make good time to Shariz," I stated.

"Well sir that would work perfectly if not for one thing."

"And that would be?"

"When the sun goes down the desert drops well below zero. We may be cool but you people aren't prepared for it. My comrades and I are dressed for this climate. You are not. The horses may die leaving you a long walk from Shariz. With all the cargo you have, that is something I'm sure you don't want to happen."

"Gods," I muttered as I signaled for the other wagons to halt.

We had blankets but I didn't think we would be using them in the middle of the desert. We used some blankets to cover the horses. We then cracked out the bed rolls and set up camp. We had a bit of fire wood and set up several fires.

Laying in the cold I was staring up at the night sky. I loved just looking up at the stars.

"T-Treda," I heard Ymira call.

The fire had died down considerably but I could still see her.

"Yes Ymira," I replied.

"I-I'm cold," she sputtered.

"Oh," I said unsure of what to say.

"I-I read in a book once that to k-keep our bodies warm the best thing is another b-b-body."

"OH," I said getting what she was saying, "umm well I'm right over here."

I saw her get up and walk slowly over.

She lay next to me and cuddled up. My heart started beating a little faster.

"Treda," she whispered.

"Y-yes," I stammered.

"Can I ask you something?"

"S-sure."

"Where did you get that money from," she asked quietly.

My heart almost stopped. I had to quickly think of something.

"A… side deal," I said truthfully.

"What kind of deal?"

"I sold some things I picked up in Ibiran."

"Really?"

"Really , really."

"Good," she said moving closer, "I was worried you sold those people to slavery."

She hit me right to the core. Gods she didn't know it but heart had stopped. She had hit the nail on the head without being aware of it. I just lay there not saying anything. I waited until I heard her snoring lightly before I let out a shallow breath. I was in a compromising position with a beautiful woman but I couldn't move a muscle. Eventually I felt my eyelids begin to droop and sleep eventually overtook me.

I was shaken awake.

"Sir we should get moving now," a familiar voice called.

Sitting up I found myself staring at the eyes of who I think was the man who stopped us last night.

"What is soldier," I said suppressing a yawn.

"I know you wouldn't mind spending time with your woman, but I feel it is my duty as your soldier to inform you that there is a group of desert raiders nearby," he said almost nonchalantly.

Any trace of sleep left my system.

"Gods, do they know where we are?" I asked quickly.

"They do not. Me and my fellow people were scouting. We spotted a group of perhaps fifty riders about a mile from here. That may seem farm to an outsider but this is their home. If they spot this caravan they will come charging. I suggest that we pack up quickly and make haste to our destination. If we can get a head start we could either avoid them altogether or outrun them."

I took in what I was told.

"Everybody up!" I shouted.

Every one of the Sarranids was up in a second. It took a moment for the Rhodoks to raise and gather up.

"Everyone I have been informed that there is a large enemy force nearby. Pack your sleep rolls and get into the wagons. If you aren't ready to leave you will be left behind," I bellowed, "that's it get on with it."

Everyone quickly gathered their sleeping rolls and headed for the wagons. Ymira was still on the ground sleeping. I carefully scooped her up and put her down carefully on the seat of the wagon. I then grabbed the bed sleeping rolls and tossed them in the back. Within moments we were off.

Ymira stirred after a few minutes of the wagon moving.

"What's going on," she said yawning deeply.

"We're on our way to Shariz," I said worriedly.

"What's wrong?" she asked taking my worried tone.

"I was informed of fifty riders nearby our camp site. We had to leave quickly to avoid getting attacked."

Her eyes widened a bit.

"Did we get away?" she asked.

"Looks like it," I said letting out a deep breath.

She grabbed my arm and pulled herself closer.

"Good," she said quietly.

I glanced down at Ymira, admiring her beauty in the sun rise; her golden blonde hair seemed to shimmer, her emerald green eyes sparkled.

"Beautiful," I said quietly.

"I know," she said and I nearly choked, "I just love to what the sunrise."

"Y-yes, the sunrise is beautiful," I said breathing out.

As we rid over a dune we were greeted with another beautiful sight. The city of Shariz, the tall white buildings was a sight to behold in the sunrise. I could hear a collective sigh of relief as the gates came into view. We were stopped momentarily by guards who wanted to check our cargo. They were alarmed at first by the armed men in the wagons; they calmed down a bit when they saw fellow Sarranids traveling with us. We headed into the city of white and made a line to the market. Ymira hopped off the wagon and began talking to people. After a talking to a few people she headed back to me.

"Treda, were going to be here a couple of day," she said getting back onto the wagon.

"Why?" I inquired.

"The price is beginning to rise but if we want to get the most for our money we should wait for the price to hit its peak. Then we sell everything for maximum profit."

I understood that and we headed for the tavern. We locked up our cargo and before we headed inside I realized it was payday.

"Ymira, do you have your ledger?"

"I've begun keeping it on me at all times," she said pulling out the book.

We headed up into the tavern and everyone got there pay. When it came to who I think saved us twice I slipped him four coins instead of two. He nodded in thanks and went to the bar. We were lounging about when I spotted someone. He was a man in yellow and red robes drinking alone. His clothes appeared to be high quality. But this was far from an extravagant tavern. Ymira was drinking back a pint so I figured I would talk to the man. He appeared to be a Sarranid man in his late forties at least. His hair was gray and thinning with a bushy beard on his face.

"Mind if I share a drink with you stranger?" I asked.

"Sure, sit and listen to my tale of woe," he said motioning for me to sit, "my name is Artimenner. I have been working in this town for some time, working for Emir Hiwan. He hired my superior and me for some construction work. We were building a wall for the Emir, but my superior thought it wise to cut costs and not leave enough to finish the job. Emir Hiwan was atop the wall when it collapsed, he was killed in the accident. My superior refused the blame and pointed the finger at me, that resulted in me receiving the blame, and prejudice of Hiwan's death. Now I sit here wallowing in drink waiting for one of the new Emir's men to find me and put me to the axe."

"What kind of skills could you offer a company of soldiers?" I inquired curiously.

"Well I can't handle a blade. But I can knock down walls and with enough time and coin I can build them up again to. Why do you ask?"

"I happen to run a company of men who could use an engineer. If you would be willing to join up with us I can try to ensure your safety from this problem."

"Not that your offer isn't good. But I will need a bit of money before I can leave here. I'm sure three-hundred Denars would cover it."

The man was no fool. He knew I wanted his help, he also knew that if I needed it bad enough I would be willing to pay. I pulled out my purse and tossed him a pouch of three-hundred Denars.

"Much obliged… what is your name sir?"

"Treda of house Helmaer, pleased to make your acquaintance Artimenner.

"When do you think we will be leaving? Now that I've got a job that pays I don't to lose that and my head."

"We'll be here a couple of days. We have some merchandise to sell and are waiting for the right moment."

"Ok sir," he said sipping his drink.

I motioned for Ymira. She came over and sat down.

"Ymira, this is Artimenner, our new engineer," I said introducing the two, "Artimenner, this is Ymira, the group merchant extraordinaire.

She blushed a bit.

"Oh stop that," she said turning her head.

"Modest I see miss," Artimenner said chuckling.

"You don't know the half of it," I said with a nod.

We sat and drank and talked. Artimenner kept talking about the amazing accomplishments he had been a part of. He had made war machines for taking down castle walls; he had then later been hired to build those walls back up. I knew that I had to keep Artimenner with my forces. I knew he would be a key for my future plans.

We spent the following couple of days just lounging around the tavern drinking and talking. On the third day in Shariz we sold all of our iron. We bought close to ninety-five hundred Denars worth and made thirteen-thousand. We didn't double our money but we did make a nice profit.

"Treda I believe we can make a bit more money on another trip," Ymira said to me after we sold the iron.

"How so?" I asked.

"I talked to the town's guild master. He said that he needs someone to deliver a bunch of fine wines to an upscale tavern in Durquba. The job will take us deeper into the desert but pays two thousand Denars,"

"Two-thousand sounds like a bit much for a simple delivery job. Explain."

"Well there have been a lot of bandit groups running around as of late. The price is high because of the risk. But on the plus side we can hire more men along the way. I have already mapped out a route," she said pulling out the map, "we can recruit from Mit Nun, Dhibbain and Tilimsal on the way there, then from Shibal Zumr, Qalyut and Rushdigh on the way back."

"Gods, we are going to need more wagons," I muttered.

"Taken care of," she said with a smile, "I bought three new wagons."

Gods, this woman thought of everything.

We left shortly after we picked up the wine. But not before we picked up lots of water and provisions. My army had reached eighty-six people. At this rate I would have a caravan of wagons so long I could have one wagon arriving in a city while the last wagon was still leaving the previous city. I chuckled at the thought.

We picked up seven men in Mit Nun. Gods, the heat was bad in the desert. Dhibbain offered us thirteen men for ten Denars a man. Reluctantly I paid them. We only got two men from Tilimsal. It took us close to three days to make our destination. The days were boiling hot and the night's cold. Every night Ymira would cuddle up to me. Thankfully she didn't have any more questions for me. We reached the city without error to find it had a similar beauty to Shariz. We handed over the wine and received our pay. We resupplied and left almost immediately. Reaching the village of Shibal Zumr before sundown, we picked up six men and stayed the night. The Sarranids not only made beautiful buildings they made them effectively. The buildings were warm and comfortable.

We had an uneventful trip to Qalyut, where we picked up five more men. Everything was going smoothly until about half way to Rushdigh. I found my Sarranid scout jogging beside our wagon.

"Sir I thought that you should know we are being followed," he said in his usual nonchalant tone.

"How many?"

"Seventy riders at least."

We outnumbered them, but the fact they were all on horseback changed things.

"How long until they reach us?" I asked.

"About an hour from now."

"Gods we need to act now," I said slowing the column.

I began bellowing the plan to everyone.

"Ymira, this is going to get ugly. I want you to hide, bring Artimenner with you. We can't afford to lose either of you," I said as I donned my armor. She nodded trustingly.

The column entered in between two large sand dunes. Everyone got ready for action. The riders could be seen kicking up a large cloud of dust as they closed in on the back of the caravan.

The riders were along all of wagons in moments.

They began shouting when they noticed something.

There was no one in the wagons.

We stood up at the top of the dunes and shouted.

We volley of crossbow bolts signaled our charge.

Men fell limp from their horses. Others fell when their horses died. Over a hundred men charged in unison down the dunes. The bandits reacted quickly. I watched as men took arrows and went limp falling and rolling down the dune. I watched as one of my Sarranid soldiers threw a Jarrid taking a man from his horse. It wasn't my best idea to don full chainmail in the desert. But it did save me from a slash a rider took at me with his scimitar. I retaliated with my cleaver; I lopped the head off his horse in one motion, blood sprayed onto my helmet, the cleaver was sharp as a blade could be. The rider fell from his limp horse only to find my cleaver in his chest from an overhead swing.

I had a lot of my Rhodok soldiers use the spears we had in the wagons. The huge board shields also came in handy as we made sure to form a box to not let any bandits escape.

I swung at a bandit who was on horseback. He tried to block the swing, but failed. I took a huge chunk out of his side. Blood poured like a river from the wound as he fell limp from his horse. The battle lasted a while as the bandits tried unsuccessfully to regroup. We closed in quickly taking no prisoners. I watched them realize their fate but continue to fight on. By the end of the fight the sands were red with blood, both theirs… and ours. We lost ten men and had thrice that in wounded. We scavenged everything, by that I mean EVERYTHING. We stripped everyone of gear; gathering up gear from dead Rhodoks and Sarranids from our company, and stripping the bandits as well. We buried our dead as deep as the sands allowed, and left the bandits for the buzzards. We also gathered their horses tying the horses to the last wagon. I took off my armor and put it back into the wagon and we resumed our travel.

"Treda, how do you do it?" Ymira asked as we reached Rushdigh.

"Do what?"

"Kill people like that. Don't you feel anything?"

"I stopped feeling bad after what you said to me, after that attack in the forest, I realized that people are going to die. It pains me to have to take lives and watch my men die. But this kind of thing happens every day. I can't let anything stop me from my goal."

"I'm just glad I couldn't see your face," she said shaking her head.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Well when you were killing those peasants, you had this look on your face. I can't quite place it but it was scary," she said shivering.

We picked up six men in Rushdigh and decided to stay the rest of the day and recuperate. We left early in the morning to avoid the sun. It was just beginning to heat up when we reached Shariz. We let the guild master know of our success. That was when it happened.

There was a dirty man moving crates. The man was covered in sweat and was working hard.

"Treda," Ymira said looking at the man, "Doesn't that man look kind of familiar."

I had to agree with her he looked really familiar, I just couldn't place it.

"You there," Ymira called out to the man.

A man dressed in fine clothes rushed out.

"You cannot talk to my slave. He is too busy for idle chat."

"Please," Ymira said pleadingly.

He made a grunt.

"Fine," he said giving in, "slave!" he barked.

As the man neared my eyes began to pop out of my head.

"Slave, this woman wants a word with you, as soon as you are done back to work or I will whip you," the man said heading off.

"What is it ma'am," he asked.

I had turned away.

"You look familiar, may I ask where you hail from?" she asked.

Here it comes.

"Swadia, ma'am," he said sighing, "I hail from the village Ibiran."

She just stared at him for a moment.

"Oh…" she said lowly, "thank you, carry on."

I had already begun to walk away.

"You bastard," I heard from behind me.

I could feel her eyes burning a hole in my back. I turned to meet her gaze and ended up looking at the ground instead.

She closed the gap.

"You bastard!" She cried as she began to hit my chest with her fists, tears were trickling down her cheeks, "I trusted you," she said her delicate hands kept hitting me but slowing down, "that's where you got that money from. You said you sold things you picked up in Ibiran, but they were people not just items."

"Look, Ymira…" I began.

"Don't you liar," she said backing up a step, "you said you wouldn't sell them into slavery. You said you would let them go," she said choking back a sob, "I believed you and you sold them. Not only that but you looked me in the eye and lied about it. You took everything from those people. You took their family, their friends, their belongings and their town. Then you took the final piece. You took their freedom."

"Ymira, I had to do it. If I hadn't we wouldn't have had the money to get those men from Hawaha. We wouldn't have been warned about the bandits and we wouldn't have known about the nights here. If I hadn't sold those people into slavery we would either be food for the buzzards after the bandits killed us, or food for the buzzards after freezing to death in the middle of the desert. Look I know I shouldn't have done it, but I had to."

She turned away from and began walking towards the tavern.

"I'm done talking to you."

I stood there for a while. I walked around Shariz for a few hours thinking. I knew that I shouldn't have sold those people but I had to. My points were valid; those people lost their freedom so we could live. Well at least that's how I rationalized it.

Eventually I found my way back to the tavern. Ymira was sitting alone drinking. I tried to talk to her.

"Look, Ymira…" I began.

"Don't just leave me be," she said returning to her drinking.

I sighed and went over to Artimenner.

"Treda, I think you royally screwed up," he said shaking his head, "what in the Gods names did you do to upset her."

"I sold some Swadian peasants into slavery," I muttered.

"So?" he said curiously.

"I promised her I wouldn't. She believed me and I did it anyways."

"Ah," he said stroking his beard, "seems like you broke her trust."

"But I had to do it," I said trying to defend a lost cause.

"Even if you had to, you shouldn't have said one thing and did another. Especially when you care for her so deeply," he said continuing to stroke his beard.

"Eh?"

"Boy I may be getting old, but I'm not blind. Gods I've only been with your group a few days and I catch you stealing glances at her whenever you get the chance."

"Look, I'm a nobleman; she's just a merchant's daughter. It wouldn't work."

"Treda, I'm fifty-six years old. I have heard of everything. I have heard poets say that true love conquers all. I've heard tales of paupers marrying princesses. I'm sure that something can be worked out. The only thing I can suggest right now is to apologize to her, then hope to the Gods that she is forgiving."

I let out a sigh. I knew he was right but I couldn't bring myself to face her right away. I decided that I would get a couple of drinks in me first. Grabbing my first drink I sat back down with Artimenner and chatted swigging down the ale.

**That is it for chapter six, one thing before an announcement. Let me know in the comments whether you guys think Ymira should be forgiving towards Treda or if I should keep her angry with him. Come on guys you have at least a week or so before the next chapter so let me know.**

**As I said in my profile I have exams next week and won't have time for writing. I do however have two weeks break after, during that time I will try to put out at least two chapters. Until next time, remember read and review.**


	7. Chap 7 Drunks, Caravans and Trainers

**Its official, I'm a horrible person. To those who awaited this chapter I have to apologize profusely. For those who checked my profile probably noticed me mentioning I'm in college. I go several days a week, I leave at 7 or 8 in the morning spend 2 hours on the bus just to spend 8 – 10 hours in class followed by another 2 hour trip back. When I get home I work a bit then sleep. On my days off I do school work. So I'm sorry that it has taken me months to update, especially considering it's not as long as previous chapters, I just kept saying I'll try to work on it tomorrow and tomorrow seems to be very elusive. But I finished it and hope you enjoy it. **

**Martin Hamilton: I am well aware that the games hero isn't Caldarian. But for the purposes of this story the hero is a Caldarian, it gives Treda knowledge of the countries, terrain, lords and natives, that some guy who just came over the mountains wouldn't have.**

**Mr Unkown: Thanks glad you like it and I'll try to update more frequently, I know how much it sucks when a favorite fan-fic author just quits.**

**And just a quick word of thanks to those of you that have added me or the story to their favorites or alerts It means a lot to me.**

I sat talking with Artimenner for quite a while, partially because the man had a lot of interesting things to talk about, mostly because I didn't want to face the inevitable. He talked of different things he had accomplished and of plans he had for war machines and the like. I had sat with Artimenner for an hour and put away several pints before I mustered the courage to head over to Ymira. I stood and walked across the room to Ymira. Her table was a sea of glasses, at least eight or nine empty mugs sat there.

I sat across from her, she reeked of alcohol.

"W-what do you w-want?" she stuttered angrily.

I had put quite a bit of thought into what I could say. But thinking of what to say and putting it into words are two different things.

"I came to apologize again. I know you trusted me and I betrayed that trust. But you have to admit it was for the best. We're alive because of that."

"How can you still say that T-Treda? Even after you've d-destroyed their village, killed their families and stole everything of value. You are still saying that you're j-justified to s-sell them into slavery for what might be the r-rest of their lives," she said shaking her head, "and the fact that you were able to l-look me into the eyes, and l-lie every time."

I felt a little pang of regret; not for selling those people to slavery but for lying to her, I didn't want to but I felt like I should try to keep her happy. In the end she was still in tears.

"But I…"

"Just leave me alone," she said stopping me.

"But…"

"Just go."

I sat there for a moment and let out a deep breath as I stood. I walked back to Artimenner and sat down.

"Lad you've screwed up big time," he said shaking his head, "Not that it's right to lie to someone, but with a woman, sometimes admitting you screwed up even if you don't belive you did is best."

I heard this and half agreed with it. I might still be sitting with Ymira if I had have just said she was right. But I felt as if I was right, me selling those Swadians saved almost a hundred lives. I talked with Artimenner for another couple of minutes before I felt like I should take my chances and cop out. Turning I saw that Ymira was gone. I stood up quickly and turned back to Artimenner.

"Did you see where Ymira went?" I asked quickly.

"I thought I saw someone leave the tavern, but I thought nothing of it," he said shrugging.

I left my equipment and left the tavern in a blur. I turned to the left, nothing, the right, nothing.

I chose the right and hurried. A drunken woman on dark streets in an unknown city was a recipe for trouble. There was the odd person walking the darkened streets. I asked if they had seen a beautiful blonde woman stumbling around, everyone shook their heads not bothering to speak much to the outsider. I kept looking and found nothing. I turned and headed back to the tavern, instead of stopping I kept going and headed straight past it. I found another couple of people who hadn't see anything. I found one who recalled seeing someone stumbling about the streets.

Going on that lead I kept on with renewed vigor. I kept going until I heard shouting. I began sprinting towards the source of the noise. I found myself in a familiar place with one drunken Ymira shouting at a door.

"Open the door!" she shouted.

A Sarranid man in night clothes holding a candle opened the door.

"What is it?" he growled obviously unhappy.

"I-I demand that y-you release the Swadian s-slave you have in your p-possession," she stuttered obviously drunk.

He laughed in her face.

"Look girl, I paid over a hundred silver pieces for that slave. I'm not going to simply let him go," he said stifling a yawn.

"Ymira," I said quietly.

She turned quickly.

"Treda, w-what are you d-doing here?" she asked.

"I'm here to bring you back to the tavern, you need to get some sleep," I said trying to coax her to come back to the tavern.

"I'm not going b-back until this… this… bastard r-releases that man," she said pointing to the merchant.

"I already told you, I'm not just going to release a perfectly good slave," he said angrily.

I let out a sigh when a thought hit me.

"Sir what if I paid for the man's freedom?" I suggested, "I could pay you double what you paid."

The man stroked his short beard considering this. After a moment he let out a sigh.

"Usually I wouldn't do this but by the gods I need my sleep, fine."

I pulled out my purse and tossed him a pouch of two hundred coins.

The man then turned and went inside. He came back after a minute or two with who we were looking for.

He began to thank me.

"Oh thank you sir, thank you..." he began, "You?" he almost shouted.

I couldn't say anything. He walked up to me and punched me in the jaw. I took a step back but did nothing. The man spit on my shoe and walked away without another word.

I could have punched him back, or took him to a guard. But after everything, I just let him leave. I felt my conscience lighten in the slightest, but I couldn't bring myself to feel anything more. After all the evil I had done to that village, helping one villager didn't atone for that.

Ymira at that point was off to the side vomiting. I walked beside her and gave her a pat on the back.

"Why did you…" she paused to vomit, "help him?"

"I guess to make up for a stupid mistake and to apologize to you. Ymira, I told you I wouldn't sell those people but I did. For that I want to apologize, it was a stupid thing to betray your trust. I pray to the gods that you'll forgive my stupidity."

She puked what I hoped was that last of her stomachs content. As she stood up I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the vomit from her chin.

"You are…" she let out a groan, "forgiven. But I-I swear this Treda, if you do s-something like that again I'm leaving."

I could tell by her tone that she meant it. That would mean either I would have to cease any activity that would make her unhappy with me, or I could continue behind her back, although that really didn't go well the first time.

We left the street and headed back to the tavern. I brought her upstairs and put her in a bedroll. She fell asleep as she hit the pillow. I looked at her sleeping form and let out a sigh. I knew that I couldn't be the reason that Ymira left, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I lightly kissed her forehead and went to my own bedroll.

In the morning we headed out. It took a while to go to the other tavern where the other chunk of our forces were. As it so happens a single tavern couldn't hold a hundred people. We kept all of the horses, weapons and armor from our desert conflict. Several of the Sarranids had a bit of training in riding. With twenty men on horseback and eighty on foot, I was gathering quite a force. It took us around elven hours to get out of the desert. I had never felt cooler than right after I left that desert.

We had a force that was capable of some damage now. We stopped off at Jelkala for supplies. The guards were just as cautious of letting Sarranids in, as the Sarranids were of the Rhodoks. We purchased our provisions and headed out. I announced to my men my plan. We were going to begin hitting Vaegir and Swadian caravans. During wars such targets were free game. As the Vaegirs had no quarrels with the Rhodoks or Swadians trade caravans were constantly going back and forth between the countries. We could also hit Swadian caravans going between Swadia the other countries such as the Nords, Vaegirs and Khergits.

We had been traveling for a day or so when an opportunity presented itself. A large caravan of sixty men was traveling from the land of the Vaegirs to the Rhodoks. We hid the wagons and I had most of my men hide while I took a few men to confront the caravan.

I was dressed for battle, crossbow at the ready. The caravan slowed to a stop. The Rhodoks at my sides had stuck their board shields into the ground and readied their crossbows.

"What business do you have with us stranger?" the man asked unfazed by the seven men in front of him.

"You are going to give us all of your possessions or you give that and your life," I said threateningly.

"Ha a pitiful seven men against my sixty-five," he said chuckling.

"I'll give you one chance before we unleash hell."

"By the time you try to notch another bolt we'll be on you," he said with a sneer.

"You asked for it," I said firing a bolt into the closest rider.

The man was just beginning to bellow orders when dozens of bolts hit both sides of the caravan. Before they could react spearmen rushed out of the bushes. It was a slaughter. I watched Balda, as he took a man off a horse with his spear while taking the arm of another man with a large curved blade he acquired in the dessert; Veti was behind a bush loosing arrows with grim precision. Gods I would hate to anger either of them. Before anyone could sound a retreat the Sarranid riders swept into their rear.

We killed thirty-seven of them. The others we let go relieved of weapons, armor and silver of course. We lost two men and had over a dozen injured. We continued this for weeks. Ambushing caravans both Swadian and of the Vaegir. Ymira wasn't happy with the enemy and friendly casualties, but she was glad I wasn't taking prisoners.

Artimenners advice swam about my head. But of course forming a plan and acting on it are two different things. Ymira and I had grown distant right after the slave incident. I had closed that gap after buying one of the men's freedom. Things ground to a halt after that. We still chatted and drank together. But I had made no progress in attempting to court her. I had a plan, but it would take a while for the right moment come.

We had close to thirty-thousand Denars in our coffers. I had bought better gear for my men and hired new men from the villages. They had heard about the success of my company and now had plenty of eager young men wanting to earn money through combat. I had around forty Sarranids and close to one-hundred and thirty Rhodok men; eighteen riders, twenty-two skirmishers, seventy crossbowmen and fifty-eight spearmen.

I decided it was time for a change of scenery. We moved from Jelkala all the way to the land of the Nords. With eleven wagons and one-hundred and seventy men it took us close to a week. Partially because of how many people we had, mostly because we had to be cautious moving through Swadian territory. We ran into several patrols, for the most part they just saw a large caravan, one patrol decided to check through our wagons. They started sifting through our provisions and equipment. It was going fine until they saw the coat of arms on one of the board shields.

"This is the group that has been hitting our caravans. Kill them all!" the captain shouted.

While a rider who was next to my wagon turned towards his shouting captain I drew my cleaver and struck his head from his shoulders.

We had taken out most of them when a survivor made a break for it.

"Gods someone kill him!" I bellowed.

I drew my crossbow and fired a bolt missing him by at least a dozen paces. Several other men followed suite and they too missed.

Just when I thought Veti hopped up onto the front of one of the wagons. He notched an arrow and took a few deep breathes before losing it. The arrow flew and hit the man in the back. I thought he might have just been wounded until his horse slowed and he fell limply from the saddle.

"Thanks the Gods," I muttered, "and thank you Veti, you may have just saved all of our lives."

"Think nothing of it captain," he said as if it were no big deal he just saved the entire force.

But of course our victory didn't come cheap, we lost a dozen spearmen, five crossbowmen and one skirmisher. There may have only been thirty but they were well trained. We killed every last one of them and tossed the bodies, not before stripping them of valuables course.

After that we travelled without incident. The Vaegirs and Nords might be neighbors but that didn't mean I had been into Nordic territory before. Their cities were massive collections of wooden structures, most with intricate carving of various dragons, beasts and runes.

I had noticed several things between the factions of Caldaria. I noticed that Sarranids were for the most part serious and quiet people who kept to their own. The Rhodok people liked a bit of drink along with lots of stories while gambling. The Nords took drinking like a job; they were a rowdy bunch that loved brawling and singing almost as much as drinking. Nords outside of the tavern were revered as incredible infantrymen, like the Rhodok having almost no cavalry in their armies. Difference being that Rhodoks preferred to keep enemies at a distance with crossbows and spears. The Nords on the other hand preferred to wield axe and sword and close the gap in as little time as possible, throwing axes and spears along the way. The Sarranids preferred light armor, weapons and horses; they preferred speed and mobility allowing them to flank armies and aim for weak points.

The Nordic town of Sargoth smelled of salt water drifting up from the ocean. We would go to towns and villages and gather warriors and recruits. Soon it would be time for my first strike at the Vaegirs. Many people from nations left their homeland to make a name for themselves, most would join or start mercenary companies. Sometimes things went sour and they turned to complete banditry and robbery instead. Other joined up with one of the countries as sell swords, I heard of one man who wasn't from Caldaria who started up a well renowned mercenary group. He sold his lot in with the Nords, after he obtained a large enough force he broke away from them and tried to take one of their castles. He took the castle only to find the entire Nordic army surrounding his new found castle days later. Needless to say the castle was retaken and he was executed along with his entire army. No one knows for sure as that was close to a hundred years ago.

I had up to that point did things I was proud of, and things I wasn't. I had started an extremely well of mercenary company; most companies only reach about fifty to seventy members. Due to my charisma, leadership and Ymira with her ledger, I have been able to have a hundred and sixty men under my banner with more being recruited weekly; I had an army that could rival a lord's, with the exception of training. I had had some of these men with me since day one, others are still raw. I had plans for my strikes at the Vaegirs but before I would be able to stand against them I would need to have everyone properly trained.

The Nords refused us entry at first. Me being a Vaegir and having an army of Rhodok and Sarranid men wasn't what they wanted in there great towns. We were about to leave when one of the guards saw one of our board shields.

"You are the one they call Treda?" the long bearded Nord asked.

"Yes why do you ask?"

"You are gathering some fame in our territory; you are the one who is striking Vaegir caravans without mercy. Word has reached our towns of a mercenary group led by a man with a shield of black with a white cross who has yet to lose a battle. I'm sure several of our lords would be honored to fight against you in combat," the man said laughing and clasping my shoulder.

"Open the gates," another one bellowed.

"Thank you," I said getting back into my wagon, I shuddered of the thought of Nord lords seeking me out to fight.

My army took up almost three Nordic taverns; it would have been five if the long structures didn't have second floors. That and there was already dozens of other Nordic patrons drinking, singing and brawling. I found a man who stuck out among the crowd. He was a man of average height who wore brown robes with intricate designs. He obviously was a man who earned a nice amount of money, but that wasn't what piqued my curiosity.

"Hello there stranger," I said sitting across from him, "what is a Vaegir doing in a Nordic tavern?"

"Well I was drinking quietly until you came along," he said nodding his head, "but I'm sure you don't mean it like that. I am here because I was exiled."

"Well that doesn't happen very often," I said curiously.

"Not by the king but by one of his right hand men. You see lad, I'm a trainer of soldiers, I take a group of whelps and replace them with strong and able bodied men, " he said as if stating a well-known fact, "but some don't like my rather extreme training methods. I was training a large group of men for Boyar Vlan, some of his officers disobeyed my orders and I had them flogged. Vlan didn't take well to that, he fired me without pay and had me put into exile," he said with obvious distaste.

"Hmmm, what would you say to a chance to get revenge on Vlan?" I said throwing some bait.

"I would jump at such a chance. Why do you ask?" he inquired.

"I happen to be on a mission. It involves war with the Vaegirs, would you be interested in joining up with me to train my men?" I asked hopefully.

"Hmmm, what kind of force do you have at your disposal?" he asked, apparently I had his interest.

"I have a hundred and seventy men, a hundred and ten are Rhodoks, the rest are Sarranids," I said motioning to the small groups of Sarranids that dotted the long house.

"Hmm, a diverse group you have there. And it's safe to assume you're here to recruit some Nords?"

"Yes, that obvious?"

"You have a sound mind…"

"Treda Helmaer."

"The son of Fricio Helmaer," he said spitting out some mead.

"The same," I said with a sigh.

"I accept," he said with a nod.

"You… accept?" I asked surprised that it didn't take any convincing.

"Hell we might die; if I die I want it to go down with a bang. What better way than going out with the son of one of the most well-known traitors of the century?"

"My father was no traitor, he was just a man who ran his mouth," I said shaking my head, "I'm going to take down King Yaroglek, even if I have to take his empire apart piece by piece."

"What will you do when you've completed your revenge?" he asked.

"I don't know, crown myself king," I said half joking with a shrug.

"It's kind of funny, I always said if I met someone who planned on being king, not just of one land of Caldaria, not even all of Caldaria, but of all the known world. I said I would sign up to serve him free of charge," he said with a hearty laugh.

"What kind of army do you see conquering all of Caldaria?"

"Oh Caldaria would just be the first step. I envision an army that could conquer all of Caldaria and then march right over the mountains and onto the rest of the world," he said smiling, "my idea for the perfect army, I would say rows of Rhodok crossbowmen and Vaegir longbow men, protected by a wall of Rhodok spearmen, have Nord Huscarls leading the charge, back them with Sarranid skirmishers, flank the enemy with Khergit lancers and Swadian knights."

The thought of such an army was dizzying. It would have the perfect mix of defense and offence, strength and swiftness. I could already see such a force on the battlefield; I could almost see it conquering the known world.

"By the Gods," I muttered.

"My thoughts exactly, Treda I have never had an opportunity to even think of starting an army of that size. You already have started building the force I mentioned. You have skirmishers, spearmen and crossbowmen, and you're here for Nord infantry. I would be honored if you would accept my help,"

"I accept…"

"Lezalit," he said with a small bow.

"Now then General," he said standing, chugging the rest of his mead and slamming down the mug, "Assemble your men within five minutes and meet me at the front gate."

"Um, okay," I said as I quickly began to scurry about getting everyone.

He said five, it took twenty. We found him standing impatiently at the gate.

"I apologize it took a while to gather everyone," I said shaking my head.

"The town of Sargoth has been lost, its defenders captured or killed before they had the chance to fight," he said shaking his head.

"What?" I asked questioningly.

"It took twenty minutes for you to gather your men, in that time ladders could have gone up and soldiers could be in the town. If it took that long in a real situation you may very well be dead. I want five laps around Sargoth from everyone,"

"Five laps around the town?" someone called, "what the hell is this?"

"Who are you to tell us to do something?" someone else called.

That was met with murmurs of agreement.

"I am Lezalit; and I am working for Treda as an advisor and a trainer," Lezalit said seriously, "If you have a problem you will find yourself tied to post to be flogged."

The voices of disagreement stopped.

"Won't it look a little weird to have a hundred and sixty men jogging around the town?" I asked not really wanting to do the laps myself.

"I was exiled from the Vaegirs months ago, drinks don't pay for themselves. I have helped the Nords and mercenary crews train; this is nothing the guards haven't seen before. Now then enough idle talk everyone lets go," he said pulling off his robe, revealing chain mail and a short sword, "after doing this a few times you men will be ready to do this in full combat gear," that was met with several groans.

He then began jogging, it took everyone a moment but they took off quickly when he threatened to flog anyone who didn't do the laps.

It took what felt like an hour to finish our first lap. I had sweat beginning to pour down my back. Quite a few Rhodoks looked ready to pass out. The Sarranids on the other hand were doing fine, their brows were dry and they kept a uniform pace. Ymira decided she felt like tagging alone even though she wasn't technically part of the army. We had completed three laps when Ymira began to slow; she was blinking rapidly trying to keep the sweat out of her eyes. I slowed down accordingly to talk with her.

"Ymira are you alright?" I asked worriedly.

"I'm," she took a deep breath, "fine. This is harder than it sounded."

"I agree completely, if you're tired you don't have to do this you know."

"No I'm going to finish this no matter what."

"I can say something…" I began.

"No I have to prove to myself and… someone else that I am worthy," she said taking several deep breathes.

"If you say so, but please," I said, "don't hurt yourself," It sounded silly but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she got hurt because I didn't stop her.

We got to the fifth lap with several men collapsing along the way. Ymira stumbled a bit and almost fell forward.

"Come on Ymira," I said taking in a deep breath, "you can do it just a bit further."

"I… know… I'm… fine…" she said with several deep breathes.

The second we hit the gate again several men collapsed. I followed suite, Ymira too fell.

"Treda, you and most of your men need to do this more often, there is no telling when you will have to sprint in battle. Build up your stamina, now if you will excuse me I will take some of your men to gather the fallen. Meet us in the town square," he said grabbing several of the Sarranids and heading off.

"Damn that was hard work eh Ymira," no reply, "Ymira?"

She was passed out.

"Come on men we're heading to the town square," I said lifting up Ymira gently.

We arrived into the open town square where we began our wait.

"Hmm, where are we?" Ymira asked stretching in my arms.

"We're in the town square waiting for Lezalit to return,"

Lezalit and the men he took were carrying the men that had passed out on their backs.

"That time was crap," Lezalit spat dropping the man off his back, "Tomorrow we'll run it again at the crack of dawn, and if anyone passes out I swear to the gods they will find themselves running it again in full combat gear."

There was a collect of groans.

I could tell this was going to become a series of training regimes to get us ready for war.

After Lezalit ranted on for a few minutes at those that passed out we were dismissed.

I was ready for a cold pint by the time we arrived at the tavern.

I had been sitting drinking with Ymira for a few minutes when Lezalit walked up.

"Treda, you have a decent bunch of men with you," he said with a hint of a smile.

"Wait weren't you just saying how worthless they were?" I asked surprised.

"Your men aren't the best, but they definitely aren't the worst. Tomorrow we'll do some weapon training. Now then sir I need to get something to drink," he said heading towards the barkeep.

Ymira and I got back to talking before I felt a question begin to tug at the back of my mind.

"Ymira, I've been meaning to ask you something," I said turning back to her.

"What?"

"Back when we were running our laps, you said that you had to impress two people. I'm curious as to who the other one is," I said questioningly.

"Well… its y…y" she let out a small sigh, "Yrner,"

"Who?"

"Yrner, my father," she said "I feel like I should prove I'm worthy of his love."

I could tell that what she was saying wasn't entirely true. But I hadn't known her to lie so it had to be a good reason.

I knew that would be many long days of training and recruiting ahead. But at that moment sitting across from the women I loved drinking a cold pint I felt like everything might just turn out alright.

**As I have said before, if you like this story send a comment, constructive criticism welcome. I'll get to work on the next chapter when I have some more free time.**


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